DEDHAM, June 5, 2024 – The Trustees of the Yawkey Foundation today announced 17 new Youth & Amateur Athletics Program & Small Capital grants totaling $1,040,000 to Greater Boston nonprofit organizations dedicated to providing access to high-quality athletic and recreation programs.
With the announcement of this 2024 cohort of grants, the Yawkey Foundation will have invested more than $96 million in philanthropic support since 1977 for Youth & Amateur Athletics nonprofits serving individuals, families and communities in Massachusetts and Georgetown County, South Carolina.
Tom Yawkey and his wife Jean Yawkey truly loved the game of baseball, in large part because they realized how team sports could build important life skills that benefit young players on and off the field – such as respect, teamwork, and sportsmanship. Yawkey Foundation grant recipients are recognized for providing innovative ways to enable children and young adults to participate in enriching activities, with many of them doing so by removing barriers that might otherwise preclude participation and enjoyment.
Tom grew up around the game of baseball, with his uncle (who was also his adoptive father) William Yawkey as co-owner of the Detroit Tigers baseball team from 1903 – 1919. Tom played intramural baseball while he was a student at Yale University, and as team owner of the Boston Red Sox, which remained under Yawkey ownership from 1933 to 2002, he could often be found participating in batting practice or watching a game with fans in the stands.
The following Youth & Amateur Athletics nonprofits are among those organizations receiving 2024 Program & Small Capital grant funding from Yawkey Foundation:
| A Sporting Chance – Boston Baseball Camp | Hale Reservation |
| Bay State Games – Baseball and Softball Programs | Jewish Community Centers of Greater Boston |
| Boys & Girls Clubs of Dorchester | PAL – Lowell Skills & Drills Baseball Clinic |
| Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro South | Pan-Mass Challenge – Kids Rides |
| Boys & Girls Club of Greater New Bedford | Yawkey Baseball League |
| Cape Cod Baseball League | YMCA of Greater Boston |
| Crossroads for Kids | Youth Enrichment Services |
| Good Sports – Baseball and Softball Programs |
For the second consecutive year, Yawkey Foundation is pleased to collaborate with The Base by bringing baseball and softball programming to children at the Yawkey Club of Roxbury as part of the “Under the Lights Summer Baseball League”, specifically for children ages 6-9 years old.
These newly awarded grants are in addition to more than $1,700,000 in multi-year and in-progress funding being provided to youth and amateur athletics nonprofits, including Boston College, Special Olympics of Massachusetts, Adaptive Sports New England, and Youth Enrichment Services.
The Yawkey Foundation is dedicated to perpetuating the philanthropic legacy of Tom Yawkey and Jean Yawkey, whose eight decades of quiet generosity supported individuals and families in the communities that were closest to their hearts – Massachusetts and Georgetown County, South Carolina. Having awarded more than $575 million to date in charitable grants to organizations focused on health care, education, human services, youth and amateur athletics, arts and culture, and conservation and wildlife, the Yawkey Foundation is committed to preserving and sustaining the Yawkeys’ charitable values by investing in nonprofits that provide resources, opportunity, and dignity to the vulnerable and underserved. For more information and the latest announcements, please visit the Foundation’s website, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook.