White Sox Awarded Allan H. Selig Award For Philanthropic Excellence
From the Offices of Major League Baseball
SAN DIEGO, CA – The Chicago White Sox have been named recipient of the 2022 “Allan H. Selig Award for Philanthropic Excellence,” Major League Baseball announced Wednesday. The honor recognizes the Club’s Amateur City Elite (ACE) program, which serves as a community resource to provide educational and baseball opportunities for underserved Chicago youth.
Now in its 16th year, ACE’s no-cost program has provided year-round support to more than 640 youth, while also offering a pathway away from the dangers, and potentially fatal distractions, of Chicago’s most at-risk neighborhoods.
In 2021, during an unprecedented year of gun-related crime in Chicago, the White Sox organization provided considerable resources for Chicago youth all aimed to prepare each participant to succeed in life beyond the diamond, increasing interest and participation in baseball among African American young men, and gaining exposure for young ballplayers among college recruiters and scouts.
To further their efforts in 2022, the White Sox directed their focus toward offering more opportunities to youth baseball players through an outcome-driven approach.
Through Chicago White Sox Charities (CWSC) and ACE, the organization focused on developing an educational and career-focused pipeline for youth baseball, including through the following:
ACE offers summer camps through the Chicago Park District, providing even more programming for athletes to earn national exposure and grow at the White Sox and MLB’s biggest events, including the Double Duty Classic, an event celebrating the rich history and tradition of Negro Leagues baseball in Chicago, and the RBI World Series, at which ACE’s RBI team collected the program’s 4th and 5th Championships (Jr. & Sr. Divisions, respectively) in the tournament’s 34-year history.
ACE has developed 28 players who have been drafted by MLB teams, including two first round draft picks with Corey Ray (5th overall by Milwaukee Brewers in 2016) and Ed Howard (16th overall by Chicago Cubs in 2020). Notably, the White Sox keep close ties with ACE alumni still involved in the big leagues, especially players like White Sox prospect DJ Gladney and front office employees Troy Williams and Darius Day.
The program offers individualized academic support through UC Laboratory High School ACT/SAT prep classes, along with support from six front office professionals, including professional scouts, a coordinator of college placement, and two tutors.
ACE touts more than 250 college scholarships earned by participants, more than 100 former participants currently enrolled in college, and a 99% high school graduation rate.
For the first time in its history, CWSC supported one of Chicago’s only all-girls travel baseball teams, Chaneyville. The 14U Baseball For All National Girls Baseball Tournament runners-up included Amira Hondras, the first female player in ACE’s history, as well as the team’s namesake, Demi Chaney, whose brother Torii Chaney is a member of ACE 16U team.
As a result of ACE’s work, more than 120 ACE alumni have played collegiate baseball at the Division I level, with 70+ alumni, including more than a dozen coaches, having attended Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Over 85 ACE alumni have earned college degrees, while more than 110 are actively pursuing their degrees.
“On behalf of Major League Baseball, I congratulate Jerry Reinsdorf and the entire Chicago White Sox organization for this much-deserved recognition of service to young people in Chicago,” said Baseball Commissioner Robert D. Manfred, Jr. “The ACE program is a model of how Clubs can successfully impact lives through action based on values that are important to our sport. Philanthropy remains one of the cornerstones of baseball’s connections to our communities. I thank all of our 30 Clubs for their year-round efforts to make a difference.”
“While winning the World Series will always be one of the happiest moments of my life, I am equally proud of the work we have done through the White Sox ACE program,” said Jerry Reinsdorf, White Sox Chairman. “Baseball is a game we love, but for ACE players, the game means even more. Baseball’s ability to make a life-changing impact for the kids in our program is incredibly powerful. In that spirit, ACE has created opportunities for many young men in Chicago who may have been easily overlooked. The ACE program gives players an opportunity, and then our ACE players deserve so much credit for putting in the time and hard work to reach their goals. The number of ACE alumni who have been drafted is impressive, but personally, I am proud of the 250 young men who have earned college scholarships through the program and gone on to build successful lives in the world.”
The White Sox were selected by a distinguished panel that assessed the Club’s ability to address or respond to an important community need or problem; produce desired community impact and outcomes; and the efforts that have significantly impacted the community. Club Finalists for the 2022 Selig Award for Philanthropic Excellence (as well as their programs or causes), included the following: Arizona Diamondbacks (D-backs Give Back Youth Jersey Program), Chicago Cubs (Cubs Scholars and Pathways to Success), Cincinnati Reds (Reds Community Fund Community Makeover), and the New York Yankees (Yankees-CUNY Partnership Program). For more information, please visit: MLB.com/Selig-Award.