#GoingToBat Community Spotlight: Curtis Granderson
CHICAGO - Curtis Granderson is stepping up to the plate in an attempt to fill a plate for others.
Granderson’s foundation, Grand Kids, is on a mission to aid positive youth development via education, physical fitness and nutrition. The Grand Giving initiative is just one example of how this objective is being met.
Grand Giving is a month-long campaign committed to ending hunger in Chicago, Granderson’s hometown, by donating to the Greater Chicago Food Depository and the Northern Illinois Food Bank.
Granderson also recently joined the efforts of Per Diems Against Poverty, a startup nonprofit aimed at fighting hunger in America.
Per diem allowances are given to professional athletes while they are on the road to cover daily meals and other expenses. In some cases, the entire allowance is not used.
Per Diems Against Poverty allows athletes to donate their unused portion of the allowance, reallocating donated per diems to Americans struggling with food insecurity. Granderson liked Per Diems Against Poverty because it allowed him to direct his donation.
“That’s where the interest came in,” Granderson said. “The combination of what they are trying to do and some of the things we’ve done now for three years was only fitting.”
Granderson and the Grand Kids Foundation plan to not just fight hunger, but to keep kids healthy, too.
Grand Kids is hosting the New Balance Spark Start this month. The six-week youth fitness program helps promote healthy lifestyles. The challenge engages in recess activities across twelve cities with the help of New Balance athletes – many of them baseball players.
Granderson and the Grand Kids Foundation take fighting hunger one step further, by educating youth on the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
The three-time All Star really does to it all.
Major Leaguers are #GoingToBat for causes near and dear to them, as they personify the Players Trust’s motto to ‘care, act and inspire.’ To learn more about Curtis Granderson’s charitable interests and the philanthropic activities of Major Leaguers, please click here.
