The West Michigan Whitecaps mission is to provide affordable family entertainment to the entire West Michigan community.
By providing friendly faces, open minds, our time and energy, we welcome you as our guest and hope you return as a fan.
'Caps In The Community
Since the Whitecaps began play in 1994, General Partners Lew Chamberlin and Dennis Baxter have worked hard to expand the team's charitable programs, something they feel is an extremely important responsibility for the organization. Both local businessmen, they were both raised by families who understood the importance of volunteering in the community, and their values have rubbed off on those around them.
The Whitecaps know that their phenomenal success was a result of the support of the West Michigan community and feel a sense of duty and gratitude for all the fans who have supported the team and made it one of the premier sports franchises in the country.
Chamberlin, Baxter and the Whitecaps give back to the community in numerous ways, from initiating their own Inner City Youth Baseball Program in 1995 to facilitating fundraisers for non-profit organizations to speaking at community functions to offering the use of their beautiful Fifth Third Ballpark for worthy causes. Although they embrace dozens of charitable organizations, the Whitecaps have made a priority of working with programs that would benefit the community's greatest resource -- its youth. The essence of minor league baseball is kids and families, so kids, and in a sense families, are the Whitecaps' central focus on charitable giving.
The team focuses its efforts in two main areas: