24 Teixeira, Mark
2008 Mark Teixeira Prevent Child Abuse Celebrity Golf Classic
Join Mark Teixeira, his fellow teammates, former Braves and other well-known athletes and other celebrities at the 2008 Prevent Child Abuse Celebrity Golf Classic. Teixeira, through the Mark Teixeira Charitable Foundation will host the event which will take place on Monday, June 30, 2008 at White Columns Country Club in Alpharetta.
Proceeds from the event will benefit Prevent Child Abuse Georgia, the only statewide non-profit organization dedicated solely to preventing child abuse and neglect.
For more information visit www.pcageorgia.org and for registration call 404/870-6589 or email lorend@pcageorgia.org
32 Hampton, Mike
Mike was one of four Atlanta Braves players to contribute $75,000 to help fund the Atlanta Braves Baseball Academy, an eight-acre signature sports complex in the heart of the redeveloped Carver community near Turner Field.
Mike and Kautia Hampton contribute $1 million annually to Hampton's Pitching-In Foundation, which supports many charities around the country, including the ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) Association. Through his foundation he is also working to build better playing fields for the children, provides four $10,000 scholarships to high school seniors, he is involved in a project to get a team of Search and Rescue Dogs for his hometown of Citrus County, in memory of Jessica Lunsford, who was also a resident of the town.
Mike also participates in Braves community programs and fundraisers such as the Braves Power Lunch Series, Jerseys Off Our Backs fundraiser and Christmas In July hospital visits. Each year Mike purchases season tickets for the Braves' "Reach Out, Be Our Guest" program for underprivileged youth, and he has purchased 15 tickets to be distributed to youth throughout the 2007 season.
15 Hudson, Tim
In recognition of his outstanding community efforts, Tim was honored as the Atlanta Braves recipient of the 2006 Roberto Clemente Award. Tim was one of 30 players nominated for the national award presented annually by Major League Baseball in recognition of the player that best exemplifies the game of baseball through sportsmanship, community involvement and positive contributions to their team.
While with the Oakland Athletics, Tim and his wife Kim developed a strong relationship with the Make-A-Wish Foundation in their area and have continued their partnership with the organization as ambassadors for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Georgia and Alabama. Throughout the season, the Hudsons host critically ill children on Make-A-Wish visits to Turner Field.
The Hudsons have also been very active in helping the organization raise money for granting wishes. As the Braves recipient of the Roberto Clemente Award in September 2006, Tim received a $2,500 grant that he presented to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Georgia and Alabama. In November 2006, Tim and Kim served as honorary co-chairs for the annual Celebration of Wishes black-tie gala. They were actively involved in every phase of planning for the event and helped make it a success as nearly $300,000 was raised. During the evening of the gala, Tim and Kim led a challenge to the guests in attendance to fill out pledge cards; the challenge alone raised $6,000. The Hudsons also secured several items such as individual baseballs signed by every member of the 2006 team and manager Bobby Cox for the event's silent auction that brought in thousands of more dollars. Several current and former Braves players attended the gala, and the Hudsons and other couples bid and won large-ticket auction items to help raise even more money for granting wishes.
During the 2006 Stories of Light Wish-A-Thon, a holiday fundraising campaign held December 15-16 on 94.9 Lite FM, Tim did on-air interviews to encourage people to participate in the Wish-A-Thon. In addition, in support of an online auction held to benefit the organization, Tim and Kim donated a dinner for four hosted by the couple at Capital Grille in Buckhead. The dinner went for nearly $1,000.
On December 13, 2006, Tim and Kim invited 75 children from the Make-A-Wish Foundation to participate in a shopping spree and holiday party at Toys R Us in Atlanta. Each Make-A-Wish child and their siblings received a $50 Toys R Us gift card, and after shopping for their favorite toys with Tim, Kim, Santa, and Geoffrey the Giraffe, the children enjoyed milk and cookies, face painters, and story time during a festive holiday party.
Tim hosted two charitable golf events this past year including the "Tim Hudson Birdies & Baseball Celebrity Amateur" that raised $98,297 for the AFLAC Cancer Center at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. Tim also joined forces with teammates in hosting the John Smoltz/Tim Hudson/Jeff Francoeur Atlanta Braves Celebrity Am Golf Tournament to benefit Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.
Tim participates in Braves community programs and fundraisers such as the Braves Power Lunch Series, Jerseys Off Our Backs fundraiser and Christmas In July hospital visits. Each year Tim purchases season tickets for the Braves' "Reach Out, Be Our Guest" program for underprivileged youth, and he has purchased 15 tickets to be distributed to youth throughout the 2007 season.
10 Jones, Chipper
Since its inception in 2001, the Chipper Jones Celebrity Golf Invitational has raised more than $1 million to benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Camp Twin Lakes in Rutledge, GA, Stetson University, and the Chipper Jones Family Foundation. The fourth annual Chipper Jones Celebrity Golf Invitational at Bears Best Golf Course in Atlanta was held November 5-6, 2006 and raised $250,000.
Touched by the tragically short life of a sick young boy with cystic fibrosis whom he once took on a hunting trip early in his career, Chipper has long been a supporter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (Georgia Chapter). He serves as co-chair of their 65 Roses Sports Committee, honorary chair of their "Bridges to a Cure" Campaign, hosts kids with cystic fibrosis at Turner Field, and visits children with cystic fibrosis in local area hospitals. Chipper has also contributed $250,000 of his own money to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in an effort to find a cure.
Annually, the Chipper Jones Family Foundation supports children's charities and organizations such as the Boys and Girls Clubs, the Florida and Georgia Sheriff's Youth Ranches and Homes, and local Little League programs. Over the past four years, the foundation's "Around the Horn" program has donated more than $300,000 to repair and refurbish youth ballparks in his home state of Florida and in Georgia. Additionally, Chipper was one of four Atlanta Braves players to contribute $75,000 to help fund the Atlanta Braves Baseball Academy, an eight-acre signature sports complex in the heart of the redeveloped Carver community near Turner Field.
Chipper's "Take 'Em Deep" Program donates $100 for every home run he hits to benefit various charities and organizations in Florida and Georgia. Corporate and individual partners match the foundation's donation. Through this program, organizations such as Special Olympics Georgia, Special Olympics of Florida, The Miracle League, Florida Sheriffs' Youth Ranches, Georgia Sheriffs' Youth Homes, Operation Caring Through Sharing, and Georgia Avenue Community Ministries have all been the benefactors of more than $25,000 in committed funds.
In 2004, the "Helping for the Holidays" Program was established by Chipper and the Foundation. Each year, $10,000 is donated to buy holiday presents and necessities for needy families. In its inaugural year, 10 families in Florida benefited; in 2006, 10 families in Atlanta were assisted.
The "Hawkeye Scholarship Program" was created in honor of Chipper's father, a 25-year educator of the Florida school system. Since 2002, $6,000 in scholarships have been awarded to high school students from Taylor High School in Chipper's hometown of Pierson, FL who best exemplify the standards and ethics of Larry "Hawkeye" Jones, Sr.
Chipper also actively participates in Atlanta Braves Community Affairs programs, willingly providing funds and his celebrity to help with their success. His annual appearance at the Braves Power Lunch Series is a guaranteed sellout and is instrumental in raising an average of $30,000 annually for the Braves Foundation. He returns to meet and sign autographs for fans at the Braves Foundation's FanFest, serves as the team spokesperson for MLB's league-wide Father's Day initiative to fight prostate cancer, and provides 25 season tickets and t-shirts ("The Chipper Gang") for the Braves' "Reach Out, Be Our Guest" program for underprivileged kids.
29 Smoltz, John
For the past 14 years, John has co-hosted the annual Braves Celebrity Pro-AM golf tournament which has raised more than $1 million to benefit Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. In addition to his charitable donations to the hospital, John is also known for stopping by unannounced to visit the children without the buzz of media surrounding him.
Going on its 14th year, Smoltz held his annual John Smoltz Baseball Camp in June 2006. John is an active instructor who provides daily skill instruction, motivational talks, and life skills training to the campers. The camp's proceeds benefit Kings Ridge Christian School in Alpharetta which Smoltz co-founded. In October 2006, John hosted the 4th Annual King's Ridge Christian School Golf Classic which raised $60,000 for the King's Ridge Christian School Athletic Department.
John will also provide similar mentoring and skill instruction on a baseball field named in his honor at the Atlanta Braves Baseball Academy at the Villages of Carver YMCA. John was one of four Atlanta Braves players to contribute $75,000 to help fund the Atlanta Braves Baseball Academy, an eight-acre signature sports complex in the heart of the redeveloped Carver community near Turner Field which opened in April 2006.
Since 1992, John has worked closely with the Atlanta Community Food Bank. Each season he hosts two "Strike Out Hunger" food drives at Turner Field to benefit the food bank. Since its inception in 1997, the campaign has raised more than $350,000 and secured over 80,000 pounds of food.
Further bolstering his relationship with the food bank and living out his commitment to hunger relief in Georgia, Smoltz began teaming up in 2001 with Atlanta's community-conscious media and sports personalities for Thanksgiving Dish, an annual event where local reporters, Food Bank staff and professional athletes cook prepared dishes to benefit local nonprofit hunger-relief agencies. Since he began participating in the event, Smoltz has helped cook more than 8,000 meals to feed the area's hungry. Smoltz is also the food bank's spokesman for National Hunger Awareness Day. Held every June, this initiative spotlights domestic hunger as an important social issue in communities across the country.
The annual John Smoltz/Marquis Grissom Wood Bat Classic provides an opportunity for young players to "play like the pros" with wood bats. The tournament also brings in competition in the form of players from the Capital Area Youth Sports Association from his hometown of Lansing, MI. The tournament's proceeds benefit the Fulton Parks Foundation which provides scholarships for disadvantaged youth to play baseball and softball in Fulton County.
John also spends a great deal of time supporting the Atlanta Braves Community Affairs Department, appearing at Braves Power Lunches, playing Santa in the Braves Adopt-A-Family program, and providing 25 season tickets and t-shirts with the logo "Smoltz's Strike Out Squad" to bring underprivileged youth to Braves games through the Braves' "Reach Out, Be Our Guest" program.
John is consistently recognized as an all-around "good guy" both on and off the field. He was the Braves' Roberto Clemente Award recipient from 2002-2005, received the Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award in 2002 and 2003, and was recognized for his philanthropy with Major League Baseball's prestigious Roberto Clemente Award in 2005.
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