thanks to my roots in Chicago. So, while training in the offseason, I was often asked, “why do you stay in Chicago? Why not go somewhere warm and relocate there?” My reply was always, “Chicago got me this far, why would I change it now?” And 16 MLB seasons later, Chicago is still home for me and the big reason why I give back so much to the city.
Throughout your career you were consistently recognized by Major League Baseball for contributing to your community. Share the genesis of Grand Giving and the Chicago Baseball and Educational Academy and the impact they have on our youth.
The Curtis Granderson Foundation (curtisgrandersonfoundation.org) was started in 2007 to focus on education and provide kids more opportunities in baseball and softball. That mission shifted slightly when we connected it to former First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign to fight childhood obesity. Through this work, I discovered many kids don’t know where their next meal is coming from, and for them to learn, grow and thrive, they require good nutrition. So, in 2013 I launched the Grand Giving (Grandgiving.org) food insecurity initiative to raise awareness and funds to provide nutritious meals to kids and families in need. Last
November, during our month-long campaign with Mariano’s, we raised $157,000 which benefited the Greater Chicago Food Depository and the Northern Illinois Food Bank. In 2016, the CBEA – the Chicago Baseball and Educational Academy (cbeauic.org) was formed to give kids throughout Chicago a place to practice, play and train year-round for baseball and softball, all on a college campus. For most of them, this is their first time stepping onto a university campus and the idea is if “they can see it, they can believe in it” and it opens the door to many possibilities