Surprise Sundancers

The Surprise Sundancers, founded in 2002, are the official Spring Training volunteer organization of the Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers and the City of Surprise. The Sundancers are a registered 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization that currently consists of over 750 members! The Sundancers also provide volunteer services at the Surprise Recreation Campus and other City Special Events. As a non-profit volunteer organization, the Surprise Sundancers raise charitable donations and receive contributions to support greater Surprise/Northwest Valley youth-related programs and projects, including the award winning Dream Catcher Park.

Scholarship Applications Closed for 2024 Season

April 1, 2024 - The Surprise Sundancers have announced that the scholarship application process for the 2024 season is now closed.  Applications for this season were extended by one month due to issues with FAFSA (federal scholarship application form) according to the Arizona Community Foundation (ACF). 

Submitted applications that have been made to ACF will now be evaluated by a group of independent evaluators that will score the applications based on blind rankings to criteria provided by ACF. The evaluations will be forwarded to the Sundancers Board of Directors to award the 2024 scholarships during a meeting later this month.

Starting in 2012 the Sundancers have provided 587 scholarships to new and returning scholars with a value of $ 1.33 million.  Proceeds from the annual Sundancers charity game, proceeds from the 50/50 daily game raffle and other donations are used to fund the scholarships each year.  Surprise Sundancers have given out over $ 1.78 million in donations in the form of scholarships and other donations to organizations that provide services to the youth of the West Valley. 

Scholarship recipients will be informed of their awards by the Arizona Community Foundation when the awards are granted later this month.

Sundancers Scholarship Deadline Extended

The Surprise Sundancers have announced that the deadline for submitting scholarship applications is extended to April 1, 2024.  We were informed by Arizona Community Foundation (ACF) that due to the delay with FAFSA (a federal scholarship application form) the students will not receive any information about what financial aid they qualify for until mid-March, so a lot of our applicants cannot yet submit their application.

Unfortunately, we will not have our normal scholarship recipients reception this year, and will announce the awards through our website around mid-April. We will announce the total amount of scholarship dollars during the game on March 20, 2024 (6:05 pm game).

Charity Game for Sundancers

The annual charity game for Surprise Sundancers charities was held on February 24, 2024.  The attendance for the game was 6,296 and was reported to be the highest grossing Charity in Sundancers history. The game was introduced by Board President Jay Hicks to thank the fans and the hundreds of Sundancer volunteers for their support of the Surprise area youth through scholarships and and other activities.

Board President welcomes fans to charity game[/caption]

Play Ball ! 2024 Spring Training

Friday, February 23, 2024 - Spring Training in Surprise, Arizona dawned on a sunny day at Surprise Stadium.  The returning World Champion Texas Rangers played the Kansas City Royals for the opening day of spring training.

Bruce Bochy, skipper of the Texas Rangers signs autographs for fans[/caption]
World Series Trophy in Surprise Stadium[/caption]

2024 Spring Training Schedule

Sundancers Board announce new officers

July 28, 2023 - The Sundancers Board of Directors has selected a new slate of officers for the 2024-2025 term.  Jay Hicks, a Board member since 2018 has been elected President, Randy Jackson, a Board member since 2018 has been elected Vice President, Paul Moehring, a Board member since 2022 has been elected Treasurer, and Jennifer Williams, a Board member since 2022 has been elected Secretary.

The Board thanks outgoing President Jim Triggs and Treasurer Diana Teter for their service during the last term. 

Charity Game 2023

The Surprise Sundancers annual charity game was played Saturday, Feb 25th at Surprise Stadium at 1:05 pm.  The Texas Rangers and the Kansas City Royals played in a game where ALL the proceeds from ticket sales, program sales and concession sales will go to the scholarship fund for deserving youth in the Surprise area. 

Scholarship awards are made based on rankings to defined criteria by a sub-committee consisting some of the Sundancers Board of Directors and volunteers from the Sundancer community.  The scholarship application process is managed by the Arizona Community Foundation.  The Arizona Community Foundation manages more than 120 scholarship funds for organizations throughout Arizona. Each scholarship has individual eligibility criteria. Eligibility for awards will be determined based on answers to the questions on the General Application and review and blind ranking by the volunteers from the scholarship selection committee.

The deadline for the scholarship applications is March 1, 2023.  See the deadline article below for more information.

2022 Surprise Sundancers Scholarships Announced

April 21, 2022 - While the 2022 Spring Training season was shortened by the MLB and Player's labor issues Surprise Sundancer's elected to continue our award winning scholarship program for Surprise area youth. The Surprise Sundancer's Board of Directors today announced the award totals for the 2022 Scholarship season. The total amount of scholarships awarded for 2022 was $ 94,500. The individual scholarship recipients are being notified of their scholarships.

This year's totals included a total of 49 Sundancers Scholars.  There were 36 first year scholarships with three of the top rated recipients receiving $3,000 Mark Coronado scholarships and 33 recipients receiving scholarships with a value of $ 2,000 each. There were 13 returning recipients that were awarded a one year scholarship of $ 1,500 each.

All awards were made based on blind rankings to criteria by a sub-committee of the Sundancers Board of Directors. The scholarship application process is managed by the Arizona Community Foundation. The Arizona Community Foundation manages more than 120 scholarship funds for organizations throughout Arizona. Each scholarship has individual eligibility criteria. Eligibility for awards is determined based on answers to the questions on the General Application and review and blind ranking by the Surprise Sundancer's Board of Directors.

New Community Leaders join Sundancers Board

The Sundancers Board of Directors has announced the addition of five new community leaders to the volunteer Board of the Surprise Sundancers organization. The new Board members (pictured above left to right) include:

• Tamara Jamison, Director of Public Safety and Municipal Business Strategy for CORE Construction
• Joe Holcomb, Chasse Building Team
• Arlene Santos, Medtronic Program Manager
• S. Paul Moehring, Reaching New Heights Coaching
• Jennifer Williams, Optum - A division of UnitedHealth Group and active Sundancers volunteer for 16 years

Current Board members of Surprise Sundancers (2024):

Jay Hicks, President

Randy Jackson, Vice President

S. Paul Moehring, Treasurer

Jennifer Williams, Secretary

Jim Triggs

Tom O'Neil

Diana Teter

Todd Hornback

Tucker Smith

Herman Orcutt

Bill Pupo

Mike Hawkins

Joe Holcomb

Arlene Santos

Bill Adams

Tamara Jamison

Surprise Sundancers awarded $5,000 grant from MLB Players Trust

Surprise, Arizona (April 2, 2022) Jim Triggs, President of Surprise Sundancers Board of Directors has announced that the MLB Players Trust has approved our grant application for a $5,000 award. This grant is being offered due to MLB operations being shut-down during the lockout. According to Triggs, the award money will be used to supplement the funds used for scholarships for next year.

According to Amy "Emiko" J. Hever, Director of the MLB Players Trust Board of Directors our request in the amount of $5,000 has been approved. "We are honored to support SURPRISE SUNDANCERS and are excited to play a small role in your work to strengthen the lives and wellbeing of others in your local community."

Donations Now Available

Many Sundancers and supporters have asked how they might be able to donate to increase the number of scholarships and grants given each year. A person wanting to donate can set their own amount whether it is a one-time donation or a recurring amount to support Sundancers scholarships in the future. All the details on donating to the Sundancers can be found on the Donate tab on the navigation menu. If you want to get a jump on a one-time donation you can click on this button below.

Why should you donate to the Surprise Sundancers? All donations are used to supplement the scholarship fund. If you are a Sundancer or a Sundancer Board member or the parent or recipient of a Sundancers scholarship in years past, your donation will provide additional funds to be used for scholarships in the future. It is a win-win for everybody. We urge you to donate to the Surprise Sundancers.

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Surprise Sundancers announce the 2021 Scholarship Totals

January 8, 2022 - While the 2021 Spring Training season was impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic Surprise Sundancer's elected to continue our award winning scholarship program for Surprise area youth. The Surprise Sundancer's Board of Directors today announced the award totals for the 2021 Scholarship season. The total amount of scholarships awarded for 2021 was $ 140,500. The individual scholarship recipients were notified of their scholarships.

This year's totals included a total of 98 Sundancers Scholars, a record number since the scholarships started. There were 28 returning recipients that were awarded a one year scholarship of $ 1,000 each.
first year scholarships with a value of $ 1,500 each.

All awards were made based on blind rankings to criteria by a sub-committee of the Sundancers Board of Directors. The scholarship application process is managed by the Arizona Community Foundation. The Arizona Community Foundation manages more than 120 scholarship funds for organizations throughout Arizona. Each scholarship has individual eligibility criteria. Eligibility for awards will be determined based on answers to the questions on the General Application and review and blind ranking by the Surprise Sundancer's Board of Directors.

Surprise Sundancers announce the 2020 Scholarship Totals

February 20, 2020 - The Surprise Sundancers Board of Directors today announced the award totals for the 2020 Scholarship season.  The total amount of scholarships to be awarded for 2020 will be $ 155,750.  The individual scholarship recipients will be notified in the following week and will be introduced to the public and fans during a pre-game ceremony at the Texas Rangers vs. Kansas City Royals game on March 13, 2020 (6:05 time).

This year's totals included a total of 95 Sundancers Scholars, a record number since the scholarships started.  There were 47 returning recipients that were awarded a one year scholarship of $ 1,250 each. 

There are 58 new recipients for this years awards.  This is another record in number of new applications for scholarships.  The new scholarships included three prestigious Mark Coronado scholarships awarded to the top rated candidates of $ 5,000 each. There were eight other top tier candidates awarded scholarships with a value of $ 3,000 each. And finally there are 47 awards for the first year scholarships with a value of $ 1,500 each.  

All awards were made based on blind rankings to criteria by a sub-committee of the Sundancers Board of Directors.  The scholarship application process is managed by the Arizona Community Foundation.  The Arizona Community Foundation manages more than 120 scholarship funds for organizations throughout Arizona. Each scholarship has individual eligibility criteria. Eligibility for awards will be determined based on answers to the questions on the General Application and review and blind ranking by the Surprise Sundancers Board of Directors.

Surprise Sundancers History of Giving

Updated for 2023

During the 2023 Spring Training season of scholarship awards the Surprise Sundancers have reached the milestone of giving out more than $ 1.748 Million of donations for the youth of the Northwest Valley since their inception. The 2023 round of scholarships recorded a number of yearly scholarships ($138,500 to 51 scholars) with first year scholarships (35 new scholars). Three of the 2023 new scholarship awards of $5,000 per year were designated as Mark Coronado Scholarships.

With our charter to raise funds to positively influence Northwest Valley youth, the Surprise Sundancers have given out $ 1,747,860 in donations to individuals and organizations that provide services to the youth of the West Valley. Funds are raised for scholarships and through a 50/50 Raffle that is held during each Spring Training game. The 50/50 Raffle program has been in operation since 2014 and provided more than $ 162,860 in donations through 2022 to 29 local organizations that benefit local youth.

The majority of the donations are raised for scholarships with $1,330,000 given in scholarships since 2006. The first year, Surprise Sundancers provided $250,000 to Dreamcatcher Park, the award-winning, fully-accessible athletic facility located on the Surprise Recreation Campus near Surprise Stadium. Dreamcatcher Park is a multi-use athletic facility designed to provide a safe and fun place for athletes with special needs to participate in sports and recreation programs.

Beginning in 2012, donations were earmarked for scholarships to Northwest Valley students. Since 2016 the scholarship application process is administered by the Arizona Community Foundation. From 2012 through 2021 Surprise Sundancers have awarded $1,330,000 in annual scholarships to 587 students. Individual initial scholarships were valued at $1,000 to $15,000 each and additional yearly scholarships were valued from $500 to $2,500 per year. Of the scholarship recipients, 209 of them were awarded a total of $282,000 in additional scholarships to help them complete their higher education pursuits.

Below is the breakdown of scholarship awards by year:

• 2012 - $48,000
• 2013 - $24,000
• 2014 - $24,000
• 2016 - $215,000
• 2017 - $135,000
• 2018 - $140,000
• 2019 - $213,750
• 2020 - $155,750
• 2021 - $140,500
• 2022 - $94,500
• 2023 - $138,500

Mission Statement

The Surprise Sundancers are a 501-C(3) non-profit organization established for the purpose of providing volunteer services to support the City of Surprise with regard to promoting, assisting and coordinating Major League Spring Training activities and other events conducted by the City. As a service organization, the Surprise Sundancers will provide volunteers for game day operations during Spring Training season, and at other times of the year, and raise funds and receive contributions to support charitable, youth-related activities and projects within the community.