Back in May, Mookie Betts surprised shoppers in his hometown by paying for their groceries, and one month later partnered with nonprofit Pull Up Neighbor to distribute reusable masks and other essential items to those in need in Tennessee and surrounding communities.
Now Betts is making his mark with the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation (LADF), who in conjunction with Pull Up Neighbor, are hosting a giveaway at the Compton Town Center (1621 Towne Center Dr, Compton, Calif., 90220) from 12-3 p.m. on Sunday.
Free hand sanitizer, reusable face masks, food boxes, and health screenings will be provided to the community. The event will also offer voter registration services onsite to encourage Compton citizens to exercise their right to vote in the upcoming elections.
“This is my home now. L.A. is my home, so I definitely want to make an impact here,” Betts said. “Partnering with Pull Up Neighbor, I think they’re doing an amazing thing, I just wanted to be part of a situation like that.
“Life is bigger than baseball. I think baseball is just a short period of time. There’s so much more to life. God blessed me with everything that I have, so I just like to share what I have with everyone else. Making other people happy makes me happy.”
Pull Up Neighbor is a response team focused on the health and well-being of vulnerable communities and aims to provide immediate and direct assistance.
The LADF are supplying 27,500 meals and over $28,000 in in-kind donations to include water, socks and Dodger giveaways.
“We are proud to partner with Mookie and Pull Up Neighbor to serve the Compton community,” Dodgers Foundation CEO Nichol Whiteman said. “As we battle COVID-19 and simultaneously fight for equality, we are grateful to have Mookie on our team tackling the most pressing problems facing Angelenos.”
While providing essential products is a driving force to the charitable effort, Betts is equally as focused on providing citizens with an opportunity to register to vote. “Every year the election is up is an important year,” he said.
“Everybody needs to get out there and vote, everybody’s opinion matters. Making it easier for people to vote is definitely what I want to do. Lower income areas seem to be the areas that don’t vote as much. Everybody should, because their vote matters. Definitely happy to make it easier for those areas to vote.”
Clayton and Ellen Kershaw hosting signature event
On Saturday, Clayton and Ellen Kershaw organized the seventh annual Kershaw’s Challenge Back to School Bash, along with The Dream Center and LADF. Challenges brought on by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic required some adjustments, as the signature event is being hosted as a drive-thru at Dodger Stadium.
A total of 3,700 pre-registered youth will be provided with backpacks and supplies needed to begin the academic year.
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