 Seattle, WA 9/17/2016 One night after hitting a home run to help his team win its eighth straight, Mariners star Nelson Cruz was in West Seattle, going to bat for local students. An all-star list of attendees helped celebrate the launch of his Boomstick23 Foundation at The Sanctuary at Admiral. A big reason to launch it here – Cruz’s foundation is supporting Chief Sealth International High School, whose principal Aida Fraser-Hammer and athletic director Ernest Policarpio were at the launch. Fraser-Hammer accepted a check for $10,000 last night and “a promise to provide us with gear for our baseball team,” as she wrote in a message to the CSIHS community this morning, explaining: … It has long been Nelson’s dream to start a foundation to support education. Both his parents were teachers and he often speaks of their strong commitment to education and to ensuring that all students graduate from high school. Nelson has always wanted to take up the charge to support education as a way to honor his parents and to give back to the community. In looking for a school to partner with, Nelson visited our school in the spring, where he met some of our students and learned a lot about our strengths and challenges. … Others from the Mariners organization and extended family were there – including Edgar Martinez, Robinson Cano, Felix Hernandez, Ketel Marte, & Leonys Martin, along with Dave Sims and Rick Rizzs. Cliff Avril from the Seattle Seahawks was also in attendance. The event at The Sanctuary also included a silent auction – with memorabilia like this: Donors/supporters on hand included Kirk Keppler from Wyatt’s Jewelers (WSB sponsor) in Westwood Village, showing the diamond “Boomstick” his business contributed: The night titled Santo Domingo Night, allowed guests to enjoy cigars straight from the Dominican Republic with a Cigar Bar thanks to Tabacalera El Artista. Guests also sipped on drinks provided by Title Sponsor Hennessey. Others in attendance included King County Executive Dow Constantine and Mayor Ed Murray. The Boomstick23 Foundation will be established in Las Matas de Santa Cruz municipality, in the Dominican Republic. An education and training center will be created aimed to support young athletically talented youth, facilitating the future educational and professional integration of young people who have developed their athletic talent. The creation of the Education and Training Center will offer training in areas in demand at the local and national level. The foundation’s ultimate goal is to ensure that young people achieve the highest educational level or a professional trade, leading to employment so they can progress in their human development and contribute to society. Also, Boomstick23 Foundation will develop a project in the USA based on the experiences and values acquired through athletics, a program focused on providing young people with positive values, taking participation in sports as a medium to promote healthy development and problem solving. Original article was posted on: westseattleblog.com More photos here. Thank you to our sponsors:       |
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