On Monday in Miami, the Jazz Chisholm Jr. held a launch party for The Jazz Chisholm Foundation, his new non-profit. Attendees included teammates Josh Bell, Jake Burger and Jonathan Davis, Miami Dolphins stars Bradley Chubb and Brandon Jones along with former major leaguers Felix Hernandez, Yonder Alonso and Yoenis Cespedes.
“They are like the greatest human beings I’ve met,” Chisholm Jr. told Fish On First about Bell and Burger, both of whom were acquired via trade earlier this month. “Every day they come to the clubhouse, they come in, they share their support. I’ve just had two aunts pass and they’ve had my back through both deaths. I’m in tears because they’re telling me that it’s gonna be okay. These guys are closest to me right now, I’d say. Especially going through a playoff chase, we basically live together, we see each other on off-days.”
For Jazz, this is a moment that has been in the making for four years now.
“I would say like we were just waiting till the time that we could actually make it happen and establish, to be able to do this at home. To share with the community in South Florida, because I grew up in both places. So for me, it means a lot.”
When preparing to launch this foundation, Jazz really looked to rap artist Snoop Dogg for inspiration. He wanted to model his non-profit off of that to benefit youth athletes and their families.
“It was more of watching other celebrities or athletes do it,” said Chisholm Jr. “Like what Snoop Dogg is doing in California right now with his Peewee league football teams and you see all the kids that feed off of that. I didn’t have that growing up. It was a real struggle to get where I’m at. I don’t want the kids to go through that.”
In addition to fellow pro athletes, Chisholm Jr. estimated that more than 50 of his friends and family members were expected to show up at the launch. He joked about some of them arriving later than the event’s scheduled start time (“we’re from the Bahamas”).
Along with providing kids with baseball equipment, the foundation will also establish organized youth leagues in the Bahamas. Chisholm Jr. will be directly involved a good amount when he is able to do so.
Photo by Isaac Azout/Fish On First
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