Freddie Freeman has regularly expressed his gratitude for the Los Angeles Dodgers organization and fans making him feel welcomed during the transition phase from the Atlanta Braves, and on Tuesday he took action to show thanks by giving back to the community.
Freeman, his wife Chelsea, their son Charlie, and more family members were on hand at the Long Beach Salvation Army to distribute items to local citizens during the second day of the 2023 Dodgers Love L.A. Community Tour. More than 7,000 meals were provided to 600 people.
“If anybody knows our story, I’m actually part of a long line of Salvationists. We have four generations of Salvationists here: my grandfather, my dad, me, and my son Charlie,” Freeman said.
“Four generations of Freemans that are also Salvationists, so this is a pretty special day for us to give back to the Salvation Army. This is a pretty special day for us to be able to come out. When they said they wanted us to be part of the Salvation Army, I called my dad and said, ‘I need you and my grandfather to come join us as well.’ It’s a pretty special day for us.”
Along with manning the distribution line, the Freemans presented a $5,000 check to the Salvation Army on behalf of the Dodgers.
“It’s a huge help,” said core officer and administrator of Salvation Army Long Beach Red Shield captain Jared Arnold.
“Just today alone, 150 families from the greater Long Beach community who are in need, are going to be receiving such great generosity of food and the opportunity to come see partnerships between the Salvation Army and the Dodgers is a reminder that people care. That’s what we like to promote, is we’re doing this together.
“It’s a collaboration for the people in need. If you’ve looked at grocery bills recently and how things have skyrocketed, this is massive. This is providing families an opportunity to make it one more week. And our services are available to them well beyond. This is a good kickstart to allow us to continue serving this community.”
How Freddie Freeman found closure from Braves
When recently reflecting on the process of emotionally moving on from the Braves, Freeman recalled a text message sent to Dodgers teammates that proved to be a pivotal turning point.
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