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| Photo provided by the Hamels Foundation |
Twenty-four inches long by six inches wide. That’s the
length and width of the rubber on a major league pitchers’ mound. And from this
small space, Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels can do great things. With his left
foot pushing off that small rectangle during his delivery, he can be the Most
Valuable Player of the 2008 World Series, baffling the lineup of the Tampa
Bay Devil Rays. Or he can be the shining gem of this past, otherwise dismal, Phillies season, winning a
career high 17 games and striking out 216 batters.
But the great things Hamels does from this tiny space have
an impact felt far beyond the sixty feet, six inches—the distance from the
rubber to home plate—where his foes face him. The impact doesn’t end there with
the thump his fastball makes in a catcher’s mitt. It reaches the schools of
Philadelphia and Malawi, Africa and the playgrounds of Turkmenistan and beyond.
Hamels, along with his wife, Heidi, have used the notoriety
and money that have come from his pitching success to start the Hamels
Foundation, a charity devoted to enriching the lives of children and giving
them the tools to achieve their goals.
And for this, the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association
(PSWA)—the oldest organization of its kind in the United States, and of which I
am a member—have named the Hamels their 2013 Humanitarians of the Year.
The
Hamels will be recognized at the PSWA 109th Annual Awards Dinner
January 28 at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.
According to Hamels Foundation Director of Operations, GN
Kang, the Hamels Foundation, created in 2008, has donated over $660,000 to over
20 Philadelphia public schools. (You may have heard how the School District of
Philadelphia has recently proposed closing three schools that have received
over $400,000 worth of playground and library equipment donated by the Hamels
Foundation.) They will also have donated-- by the end of this year-- over 1.8
million dollars to improve education worldwide, including the building of a
school in Malawi, Africa, a country where HIV/AIDS have left a million children
orphaned an living in extreme poverty. The school is expected to be finished in
2015.
Along with tending to the education of children worldwide,
the Hamels Foundation is also devoted to helping children…well…enjoy childhood.
In Turkmenistan (formerly part of the Soviet Union) the Hamels Foundation has
donated to a Peace Corps volunteer who had written to them enough equipment and
uniforms for two whole youth baseball teams for both boys and girls.
Those of us who have been fortunate enough to attend decent
schools and live healthy lives can only imagine the good the Hamels and the
Hamels Foundation are doing for the tiny minds and hearts of schoolchildren
everywhere they have touched.
But it shouldn’t be hard to imagine that the good is coming
from Cole Hamels and his team. After all, he’s used to doing great things in small places.
*To learn more about
the Hamels Foundation, visit TheHamelsFoundation.org. To learn more about the
109th Annual Philadelphia Sports Writers Association Dinner January
28-including a list of this year’s award winners and ticket information (tix are $95.00), visit
PSWADinner.com.
* Here's a list of athletes/sports people who will be there:
Speedy Morris college/high school basketball coaching legend
* Here's a list of athletes/sports people who will be there:
Mike Trout Los Angeles Angels centerfielder
Larry Bowa former Phillis shortstop and manager
Todd Herremans Eagles offensive lineman
Carli Llyod Women's US Olympic Soccer team
Heather Mitts Women's U.S. Olympic Soccer team
Charlie Manuel Phillies Manager
Jimmy Rollins Phillies Shortstop
Danny Garcia Boxing champ
Ruben Amaro Jr. GM of the Phillies
Tommy Green Former Phillie
Elena Delle Donne University of Delaware basketball
Keenan Reynolds Annapolis (Navy) quarterback MVP of Army/Navy game
Ed Snider Chairman of Comcast Spectacor which owns the Flyers
Ed Snider Chairman of Comcast Spectacor which owns the Flyers
