White Sox named 2022 Selig Award for Philanthropic Excellence winner

1 year ago
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The Chicago White Sox have been named recipient of the 2022 “Allan H. Selig Award for Philanthropic Excellence,” Major League Baseball announced Wednesday. The honor recognizes the Club’s Amateur City Elite (ACE) program, which serves as a community resource to provide educational and baseball opportunities for underserved Chicago youth.

Now in its 16th year, ACE’s no-cost program has provided year-round support to more than 640 youth, while also offering a pathway away from the dangers, and potentially fatal distractions, of Chicago’s most at-risk neighborhoods.

In 2021, during an unprecedented year of gun-related crime in Chicago, the White Sox organization provided considerable resources for Chicago youth all aimed to prepare each participant to succeed in life beyond the diamond, increasing interest and participation in baseball among African American young men, and gaining exposure for young ballplayers among college recruiters and scouts. To further their efforts in 2022, the White Sox directed their focus toward offering more opportunities to youth baseball players through an outcome-driven approach.

Through Chicago White Sox Charities (CWSC) and ACE, the organization focused on developing an educational and career-focused pipeline for youth baseball, including through the following:

As a result of ACE’s work, more than 120 ACE alumni have played collegiate baseball at the Division I level, with 70+ alumni, including more than a dozen coaches, having attended Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Over 85 ACE alumni have earned college degrees, while more than 110 are actively pursuing their degrees.

“On behalf of Major League Baseball, I congratulate Jerry Reinsdorf and the entire Chicago White Sox organization for this much-deserved recognition of service to young people in Chicago,” said Baseball Commissioner Robert D. Manfred, Jr. “The ACE program is a model of how Clubs can successfully impact lives through action based on values that are important to our sport. Philanthropy remains one of the cornerstones of baseball’s connections to our communities. I thank all of our 30 Clubs for their year-round efforts to make a difference.”

“While winning the World Series will always be one of the happiest moments of my life, I am equally proud of the work we have done through the White Sox ACE program,” said Jerry Reinsdorf, White Sox Chairman. “Baseball is a game we love, but for ACE players, the game means even more. Baseball’s ability to make a life-changing impact for the kids in our program is incredibly powerful. In that spirit, ACE has created opportunities for many young men in Chicago who may have been easily overlooked. The ACE program gives players an opportunity, and then our ACE players deserve so much credit for putting in the time and hard work to reach their goals. The number of ACE alumni who have been drafted is impressive, but personally, I am proud of the 250 young men who have earned college scholarships through the program and gone on to build successful lives in the world.” 

The White Sox were selected by a distinguished panel that assessed the Club’s ability to address or respond to an important community need or problem; produce desired community impact and outcomes; and the efforts that have significantly impacted the community. Club Finalists for the 2022 Selig Award for Philanthropic Excellence (as well as their programs or causes), included the following: Arizona Diamondbacks (D-backs Give Back Youth Jersey Program), Chicago Cubs (Cubs Scholars and Pathways to Success), Cincinnati Reds (Reds Community Fund Community Makeover), and the New York Yankees (Yankees-CUNY Partnership Program). For more information, please visit: MLB.com/Selig-Award.