Cole & Heidi Hamels Named Philadelphia Sports Writers Association Humanitarians of the Year

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 109^th 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 109^th 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:

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

Speedy Morris college/high school basketball coaching legend

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