It was more than just Roberto’s powerful throwing arm and defensive prowess that impressed a young José Berríos. It was his childhood hero’s humanitarian efforts that changed the lives of millions, inspiring José to look beyond the baseball diamond and make a lifelong impact in communities around the world.

José’s commitment to giving back and helping others started in the Minor Leagues at the young age of 18, when he became actively involved for several years in the learning centre Hogar Forjadores de Esperanza in his hometown, providing funding and volunteering with the kids. In 2017, just his second year in the big leagues, José rebuilt a damaged community centre for abused children in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria destroyed it.

In 2022, José launched his game-changing charitable initiative La Makina Foundation in Puerto Rico. The following year, he expanded La Makina to his adopted homeland of Canada and called it El Dream.

Now a proud dad of three and a dominant 10-year Major League veteran -- both on the mound and as a leader in the clubhouse -- José strongly believes he has a responsibility to use his fame for good and continues to leverage his international platform to brighten the future for kids.

In 2023, José attended a fundraising event for Jays Care Foundation, the charitable arm of the Toronto Blue Jays, and fell in love with the work the group does for youth in both Toronto and across Canada. He knew he needed to get involved. And that is how El Dream came to be.

Like La Makina Foundation, El Dream supports youth in under-resourced communities and helps them reach their goals through baseball.

El Dream extends the strength of three Jays Care programs -- Challenger Baseball, Girls At Bat and RBI (Reviving Baseball in Inner cities) -- and now all three of these programs run in Puerto Rico as part of La Makina:

• Challenger Baseball is adaptive baseball for children with cognitive and physical disabilities;
• Girls At Bat is a school-based program designed to combat attrition of girls in organized sports;
• RBI, though well known in the U.S., has enabled baseball programming to reach Puerto Rico and all corners of Canada, especially those northernmost communities that don’t often receive sports programming.

As an ambassador for both El Dream and La Makina, José has hosted numerous events in both Canada and Puerto Rico, including his popular Celebrity Home Run Derby with friends Daddy Yankee, Giancarlo Stanton, Francisco Lindor, Javier Báez, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and many others.

José shows up spontaneously and regularly at Jays Care programs to play baseball with the kids and provide advice. He hosts kids from Jays Care programs at Blue Jays games. And he actively seeks out opportunities to close a gap if he learns someone is in need.

In addition to providing funding for equipment, field rentals and staffing, José’s commitment to empowering youth has enabled El Dream to achieve extraordinary and impactful solutions in the last two years:

• Partnered with the University of Puerto Rico to establish a Challenger Baseball program, using university students as ‘buddies’ to the kids;
• Facilitated Jays Care employees to travel to Puerto Rico and train community leaders how to operate best-in-class programs;
• Provided University of Puerto Rico students the opportunity to travel to Toronto to learn best practices and implement them on the island;
• Renovated run-down baseball diamonds, ensuring youth have access to safe playing fields;
• Created performance pitching labs for high-performing athletes to pursue a career in baseball;
• Provided uniforms and equipment to the Puerto Rican national softball team;

To date, El Dream and La Makina have raised more than $4.75 million through fundraising efforts, fan donations and 50/50 sales, while José has personally contributed more than $200,000.

Through these donations and José’s relentless drive to help youth, El Dream has impacted a significant number of children across both Canada and Puerto Rico:

• 21,500 girls participating in Girls At Bat across Canada at 740 sites, with 495 youth participating in Puerto Rico at five sites;
• 18,000 athletes participate in Challenger Baseball across Canada at 530 sites, with 190 participating in Puerto Rico at nine sites;
• 28,500 players participate in RBI across Canada at 620 sites, with 982 having participated in Puerto Rico at 10 sites;

To provide context of the magnitude of this impact, the town of Norman Wells in the Northwest Territories has a population of 673 and is closer to the North Pole than it is to Toronto. Yet Challenger Baseball is thriving in the small community, with a group of young kids that never would have been exposed to baseball if not for El Dream.

There are thousands of similar stories all throughout Canada and Puerto Rico of children who would not have had the chance to play the beautiful game of baseball -- and use it as a launch pad to build confidence and help them achieve their dreams -- without José’s willingness to help make a difference in the lives of others through baseball.

José takes great pride in his Puerto Rican heritage and has deep respect for the players who have come before him. None more so than his childhood idol Roberto Clemente. Inspired by Roberto’s legacy, José has taken a page from his playbook and is committed to impacting youth through baseball on an international stage.

It has always been about the kids for José Berríos. While he’s immensely proud of the impact El Dream and La Makina have had so far, he also knows there is more work to be done. And he is still going strong.