Hank's Giving: Henry Aaron's Legacy continues off the field

Growing up in Mobile, Ala., during the Jim Crow era, Hank Aaron and his siblings faced many obstacles, yet they found a way to persevere.

Those challenges continued as Hank and his brother Tommie signed contracts with the Braves and climbed the ladder to the major leagues. As Hank surpassed Babe Ruth to become baseball’s home run king in 1974 and was later elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1982, there were many people he could look back upon as having helped him reach the sport’s pinnacle.

Years after his playing career ended, Aaron still recognized that there are many young people who need that helping hand to give them a boost in their lives. With that, he and his wife Billye began the Hank Aaron Chasing the Dream Foundation in 1994. More than 20 years later, the Aarons’ foundation has awarded hundreds of scholarships to underprivileged youth from across the United States, enabling them the assistance necessary to help fulfill their dreams.

In 2009, the parent organization – the Boys & Girls Clubs of America – partnered with Major League Baseball to create the “44 Forever” program. This initiative, which runs in perpetuity, received an endowment from MLB and is administered by the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Forty-four members of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America receive scholarships worth up to $2,500 apiece. The individuals come from all over the United States and are known as “Dream Chasers.”

Another area of the Aarons’ commitment to helping the youth of America comes in the endowed “4 for 4” scholarship. The first endowed scholarship came in honor of Commissioner Bud Selig and was given to a deserving recipient at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, Selig’s alma mater.

“Billye and I have been blessed with a great many friends who were there for us during our lives and now join us in our efforts to help young people become more than even they can imagine,” Hank Aaron said. “It is so rewarding to know that children will continue to benefit from 44 Forever and 4 for 4 long after we are gone. We hope they will remember us for this work, not just for the records I set on the field.”

Billye Aaron added that the 4 for 4 program was “a natural choice to extend our support to dream chasers new and old.”

The Aarons’ philanthropic efforts also extend to medicine, as they recently donated $3 million to the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta. The money will go toward expanding existing buildings and creating the Billye Suber Aaron Student Pavilion.

“We are happy to partner in creating a facility that welcomes and educates the next generation of doctors, health care professionals and leaders for the communities we hold so dear,” Hank Aaron said. “It is fitting that the pavilion holds my wife’s name because of her long-held commitment to education and this dedicated school’s special place in her heart.”