The Undefeated: ‘Hammerin’ Hank Aaron Is Helping Send Kids To HBCUs’

    Braves legend Hank Aaron strikes a familiar pose during an interview in the living room of his home on the eve of his 80th birthday on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2014, in Atlanta. CURTIS COMPTON / CCOMPTON@AJC.COM
    Angela Tuck writes at The Undefeated that hammerin’ Hank Aaron is helping send kids to historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs).

    From Tuck’s article:

    “Hank Aaron, the man who broke Babe Ruth’s home run record and went on to hit 755 in his career, now wants to be remembered for something entirely different.

    The Hall of Fame right fielder and his wife, Billye, have spent two decades building a philanthropic legacy that began with paying extracurricular activity and equipment fees for needy grade school students and now includes college scholarships and a multimillion-dollar grant to the Morehouse School of Medicine.

    “When I was a young kid growing up in Mobile, Alabama, I chased a dream and found it and played baseball for 23 years,” Aaron said in a brief interview. “I see these young kids coming along now and they are chasing their dreams. It just so happens that their dream costs a little bit more than mine did. I’m hoping they catch it and that they’re able to do the things they want to do in life.”

    Aaron’s Atlanta-based Chasing the Dream Foundation awarded about $350,000 in college scholarships last year, mostly to students attending small, historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Aaron beams when talking about his scholarship recipients. ‘Aren’t they wonderful? I love all my kids who have won scholarships. These kids are something special.'”

    Head over to The Undefeated to read more.