Connor Jewett, 9, and Brigette Labell, 11, both love the Portland Sea Dogs, and both for the same reason.

“I like how they hit home runs,” Jewett said Monday.

Jewett and Labell, along with about 40 other members of the Auburn-Lewiston Boys and Girls Club, were getting ready for a night at the ballpark.

The trip, sponsored by the Auburn Firefighters Union Children’s Fund, was a first for some, and an exciting revisit for many others. “It’s fun to get out,” said Brock Jellison, 15. When the trip was announced, he was the first to sign up. He said that after basketball, baseball was his second-favorite sport.

It was the Children’s Fund’s first direct sponsorship of the Boys and Girls club, said Auburn firefighter Kevin Rickett. The outing was his idea, born when his son was selling Sea Dogs tickets for a fundraiser.

Rickett said the firefighter had originally planned to just buy the kids tickets, but then decided to step it up, providing drivers and chaperones. “We thought, we really want to make sure they get there instead of just coming home to their parents with tickets,” Rickett said.

Things really came together when he called Rent It in Auburn to rent a van for the trip. When the business heard about the purpose of it, they insisted on donating the night’s rental.

The Children’s Fund has been sponsoring local sports teams with money and jerseys for years, but Rickett said lately they’ve been looking for causes outside of sports teams for the roughly $14,000 they donate each year.

Firefighter Don Therrien not only went along as a chaperone, he brought his wife and daughter, too. Other firefighters, including Mitch Sperry, went to the Boys and Girls Club Monday afternoon to see the kids off.

“This is what our Children’s Fund is all about,” Sperry said. “Events or scholarships.” He said the firefighters raise most of the money each year with the yearly Firefighters’ Ball as well as the comedy show, coming up June 6. Firefighters are currently selling tickets for the comedy show. All profits from it will go into the Children’s Fund.

Several parents were chaperoning along with the firefighters. Michelle Jones said she’s been bringing her children, Alexis, 10, and Zariah, 8, to the club for years. Monday was her first time chaperoning, although she does bake cookies for the kids there from time to time. “I help anytime I can,” Jones said. “I work a lot.”

The members of the Boys and Girls Club are no strangers to sporting events. Beyond just a place to hang out after school, the organization has brought the kids on trips to Maineiacs games all winter.

Elizabeth Cormier, 11, who said the Sea Dogs were “pretty good,” admitted she was almost as excited about going on a trip as seeing the baseball game. “It’s probably about half and half.”