In 1845, Florida became a state, the Pittsburgh Trust and Savings Company -- now known as PNC Bank -- was founded, and the first “modern” baseball club was organized. It’s serendipitous now to see how these three unrelated events have intertwined to benefit South Florida.
The relationship between the bank and the club began in 2019 and grew in 2022 when PNC was named the Official Bank of the Miami Marlins. Since then, the two organizations have frequently teamed up to contribute to South Florida communities and their prosperity.
A cornerstone initiative between the two entities is the Miami Marlins Foundation Slugger Schoolhouse presented by PNC Bank. The program brings together year-round resources to local schools to create All-Stars in the classroom in a variety of ways.
The program has impacted more than a thousand students from multiple schools in the area in its short existence. This aligns with PNC Bank’s track record of success with delivering financial literacy and education programs throughout its communities. Across the country, the bank has served more than 8 million children and committed more than 1 million volunteer hours through the PNC Grow Up Great ® program, which is solely focused on high-quality early childhood education and is dedicated to serving children from birth to age five by empowering and supporting their caregivers and teachers.
The Marlins and PNC are immensely dedicated to our community’s children, and our objective is to develop a way to not just provide resources, but also be actively engaged with them. We want to bring real-life examples of professionals to their classrooms and show them that these two major South Florida organizations care about them and their academic achievements. Our work in this program includes delivering school supplies and highlighting the significance of financial literacy at an early age.
The program’s early partner, Poinciana Park Elementary School, has improved its literacy rating to an “A” grade since taking part in our program. This is just the starting point for the PNC and Marlins relationship. And it certainly is worthy of making a priority by others, particularly as this area’s population grows and the need for community resources inevitably continues to increase. In terms of population, Florida was the fastest growing state from 2021 to 2022, according to U.S. Census data.
The area’s business growth is on a similar trajectory. In Miami-Dade County alone, a record-breaking 57 companies relocated to or expanded into the area, according to the Miami-Dade Beacon Council’s annual report for the 2021–2022-year cycle. That same report says that an additional 150 companies are already preparing for a similar move.
As part of this vibrant community, the Marlins and PNC will continue to dedicate ourselves to not only supporting the South Florida area, but our children’s educational excellence. We hope new and expanding companies in South Florida will join us in making a real, positive impact in our area and on our children by investing in their new home and in a new generation of leaders.
We believe this commitment is crucial to our area’s prosperity now - and for the next 30 years, and beyond.
