Reflections on 2023

Dear Friends,

On behalf of the Yawkey Foundation Trustees and staff, please accept our warm wishes for the upcoming year and hopes for a peaceful, productive year ahead. As we turn the page to the new year, we would like to share some reflections on 2023.

The past year marked several important milestones related to the lives and legacies of our Foundation’s founders, Jean and Tom Yawkey, including the 90th anniversary of Tom’s purchase of the Boston Red Sox. A failing franchise at the time of the sale in 1933, Tom renovated and saved Fenway Park, rebuilt the team, and saw it reach three World Series – and fall heartbreakingly short in the seventh game each time.  2023 also represented the 90^th anniversary of the first Mexican-born player in the major leagues, center-fielder Baldomero Melo “Mel” Almeda, signed by the Red Sox during Tom’s inaugural year of ownership in 1933. The signing of Mel Almeda is one of many little-known facts about the full story of racial and ethnic integration of the Boston Red Sox. Please check out our newly-updated Integration Timeline  for more “I didn’t know that” stories and pictures.

Significantly, 2023 was the 70^th anniversary of Tom adopting the Jimmy Fund, the fundraising arm of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, as the official charity of the Red Sox. This commitment marked an historic juncture in cancer research and treatment, and established what is widely considered one of the most meaningful and longest-standing charitable relationships in the history of professional sports. By designating cancer research and treatment as the team’s official charitable priority in 1953, the Jimmy Fund noted that “…Mr. Yawkey adopted generations of children with cancer,” with the unprecedented strides in cancer care resulting from this partnership. 

In October, we celebrated the opening of The Sports Museum’s new exhibit, “Summer of Love: The 1967 Impossible Dream Red Sox”, featuring iconic photographs of the season and first-hand accounts from the youthful and talented players who came together on the field and in the clubhouse to defy the odds and uplift all of Boston. We encourage a visit to this exhibit for a unique understanding of how Tom’s 1967 team, one of the most diverse teams in major league baseball, broke down barriers and made unforgettable memories that are still cherished today. 

The Foundation awarded more than $20 million in grants during 2023, investing in trusted nonprofit leaders and their deeply dedicated teams focused on missions aligned to the Yawkeys’ philanthropic priorities and actions during their lifetimes. Our grantmaking reflects the collective experiences and thoughtful perspectives of our dedicated Trustees, to whom we are grateful for an unwavering commitment, purposefulness, and loyalty to perpetuating the Yawkey legacy. The Trustees are both knowledgeable and passionate about understanding our community – its history, opportunities, challenges, and perhaps most importantly and most hopefully, the enormous potential for good that can be created when we all work together in kindness and grace.  

As always, our grantmaking approach centers around listening to and learning from our trusted nonprofit partners, those individuals and organizations embedded in the communities they serve, and therefore uniquely positioned to provide insights on what’s needed to address our community’s most stubborn, intractable challenges. Please take a moment to learn about some of the 2023 grantees we had the honor of supporting – Pine Street Inn, Father Bill’s & Mainspring, The Dimock Center,  Boston Medical Center – and many more. We’re deeply grateful to each and every one of these organizations for their dedication, sacrifice, resilience, and wisdom. Additionally, given the special place that South Carolina’s Lowcountry held in the Yawkey’s hearts, the Foundation was honored to be a part of the June opening of the International African American Museum in Charleston.

Looking ahead to 2024, we remain dedicated to fostering relationships with organizations whose missions, leaders, and proven impact would have resonated with Tom and Jean if they were still here with us today. For instance, the Foundation deepened its decades-long partnership with the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, NY – a place that was very special to the couple throughout their lifetimes – through a commitment to The Hall’s Black Baseball Initiative and its new permanent exhibit titled “The Souls of the Game: Voices of Black Baseball”. This meaningful and timely initiative will reveal the deep connections between baseball and Black America by shining a light on the many important, complex, and nuanced stories that need to be told, especially by individuals with lived experiences. 

And in our ongoing efforts to share the complete story of Tom Yawkey and the Red Sox team’s sincere and credible efforts to integrate the team prior to 1959. we believe that sharing these facts, stories, and conversations are as critical and relevant today as they’ve ever been. The Black Baseball Initiative is already engaging thousands of youth through education and outreach efforts, and it is a profound honor that the new permanent exhibit will be on view in the Yawkey Gallery of the National Baseball Hall of Fame when it opens this summer. 

As we turn the page to 2024, we will continue to cultivate conversations and relationships that enable us to listen, learn and grow. And we’ll do so in a manner that stays true to the values and actions demonstrated by our founders, Jean and Tom Yawkey, who believed in doing what is right, doing it quietly, and not expecting praise for being kind.  

Wishing you health and wellness in 2024.