Baseball Team Tests Texting For Charity ProgramBaseball Team Tests Texting For Charity Program

Washington Nationals fans soon will be able to text in charity donations during a game, thanks to a partnership between the team, MLB.com, and the Mobile Giving Foundation.

During the July 13 game against the Houston Astros, fans will be invited to text the word "NATS" to 90999 to give $5 to support the work of the Children's National Medical Center to fight pediatric diabetes.

The donation will appear on the sender's phone bill, and it will work on almost all major wireless service providers. The Mobile Giving Foundation will process the donations, keeping a 5% fee to cover costs, and forwarding the rest of the money to the medical center.

"We're proud to support Children's National Medical Center to improve the lives of children in our community," said Alphonso Maldon, president of the Washington Nationals Dream Foundation, in a statement. "And by offering text giving, we're making it easy and convenient for fans to show their support."

The "Text-to-Give" technology was successfully used during the Super Bowl by United Way, but this is the first time it's being used in a stadium at a professional sporting event, according to officials from the Mobile Giving Foundation.

Although the main push will be for the July 13 game, anyone can donate until July 31.

"We appreciate the Nationals' commitment to the health of kids in the Washington area and throughout the country," said Dr. Fran Cogen, who leads the diabetes program at Children's National, in a statement. "We are looking forward to July 13 and are excited that all fans will have a chance to be part of this effort."

This isn't the first time the Nationals have offered fans a creative way to use their mobile phones. Last April, the team was the first professional baseball team to let fans use digital tickets on their handsets to gain admission to games.