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Sports can do a lot of good, in ways both big and small
By Kathleen Nelson
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Saturday, Jun. 23 2007

St. Louis served as the focal point this week for all that is good in sports.

The Citizenship Through Sports Alliance and St. Louis Sports Commission hosted
the National Sportsmanship Awards on Thursday, in which they honored athletes
from the high school, college and pro ranks for their citizenship, ethical
conduct and community service. Some of the honorees were praised for their
charitable giving. Marc Bulger does work for the Make A Wish Foundation and Big
Brothers Big Sisters; Tony Gwynn and Carlos Delgado have set up charitable
foundations and donated their time and money to children's causes; Jamal Mayers
teamed with Bryce Salvador to form Jam n Sal's Community Stars to honor kids
who do good deeds.

Today, the Sports Philanthropy Project will present the Steve Patterson Awards
for excellence in sports philanthropy at the Associated Press Sports Editors
convention at the Renaissance Grand Hotel. The winners are the Memphis
Grizzlies Charitable Foundation and Phillies pitcher Jamie Moyer. In just three
years, the Grizzlies have donated $18 million, which has helped fund a high
school for at-risk students and seven sports complexes in neighborhoods that
had none. Moyer founded Camp Erin, a refuge for youngsters grieving the death
of a loved one, and the Gregory Fund, devoted to research in early cancer
detection in children.

What a dizzying display of goodwill.

Yet the multitude of causes and charities and fund-raisers can trip up teams
and athletes trying to give back, according to Greg Johnson, executive
director of the Sports Philanthropy Project.

"We're trying to shape and focus all this giving," Johnson said. "There's so
much potential. We want to take that resource and use it for the public good."

Johnson is a big-picture guy. He believes athletes and teams have the potential
to do more good than the philanthropic endeavors of Hometown Power and Light or
Worldwide Conglomo Corp. because of sports' cachet. Does a scholarship winner
want his picture taken with Joe Blow, vice president of community development
for O.W.G. Inc., or with Peyton Manning? Duh.

But Johnson encourages teams to approach philanthropy as a corporate entity
would. He encourages cause marketing, which links a company or brand to a
social cause. Think Ronald McDonald House, which provides a home for the
families of children who must be hospitalized long-term. Johnson also is into
vertical integration, in which sponsors, players, the community, volunteers and
vendors work together in a multilayered program. A case in point is Redbird
Rookies, under the Cardinals Care umbrella, which gives kids ages 5 to 13 the
chance to play baseball at no cost. Rawlings donates and discounts most of the
equipment and uniforms. Cardinals Care provides training for coaches and set up
a Redbird Rookies Scholarship for college. The Redbird Rookies Readers Program
works with area public libraries to encourage kids to read. The top reading
team earns the chance to play a game on the field at Busch Stadium.

But the road to hell can be paved with the good intentions of athletes. For
every successful Moyer, Lance Armstrong or Tiger Woods Foundation, there's a
Michael Jordan Foundation, which shut down because of criticism that Jordan
contributed little and that little of what was raised went to charity.

Johnson is right: The star power of athletes and their teams is a powerful
force, which, if harnessed, can do tons of good. He can show teams how to build
coalitions and partner with corporations. The result can be a program that
maximizes goodwill for the givers and impact on the receivers. So, everyone
comes out a winner. He cited the Rams, Jaguars, Falcons and San Francisco
Giants as teams with effective, multi-faceted programs.

Still, I can't resist the elegant simplicity of Mayers or Salvador patting a
girl on the back because she donated her hair to Locks of Love or shaking the
hand of a guy who helped a classmate with his math homework. A smile and word
of encouragement from a role model a can be just as effective as a strategic
initiative at lifting a child's self-esteem and can be the springboard to
another act of kindness. And another. And another.

Thinking big is great, as long as the little niceties don't get lost along the
way. The human touch shouldn't get squashed in vertical integration.