Tim Anderson's charity Sneaker Ball a real team event

CHICAGO -- From Tuscaloosa, Ala., to Chicago, Tim Anderson is all about helping and giving back to his community. His League of Leaders foundation, along with his wife, Bria, focuses on working with the youth that are impacted by community violence.

The Andersons hosted their first Sneaker Ball event on Monday with Tim’s White Sox teammates in attendance. All proceeds from the event benefited Anderson’s League of Leaders and White Sox Charities.

The charity event was organized to help Anderson’s League of Leaders foundation, while being able to show off your best sneakers. Both Tim and Bria wore sparkly gray shoes, showing off their strong sneaker games.

“Tim is so into sneakers,” Bria said. “If the term sneakerhead had a baseboard or a poster child, Tim would be that. So, it was his idea to kind of have a really good team event, something that the guys really identify with and get behind."

Anderson formed the non-profit organization after his best friend, Brenden Moss, was brutally killed in 2017. Moss, trying to help an assault victim, was shot several times. His death served as an inspiration for the development of this foundation.

Since then, Anderson has strived to help out communities in Chicago and Tuscaloosa concerning gun violence, community violence and gang violence. His goal is to bring positivity and help those in need.

“Ever since Tim and Bria created League of Leaders, they have been wonderful and letting us know what their plans were and seeing how the White Sox can support them," White Sox Charities executive director Christine O’Reilly-Riordan said. “So, it’s definitely their lead, but we’re just so proud to partner with them.

"We have a lot of similar interests in respect to helping kids, marginalized kids, kids that have been impacted by gun violence. And so it’s just wonderful that we’re aligned and we’re just happy to follow their lead.”

Several White Sox players joined Tim to support his cause on Monday: Dylan Cease, Liam Hendriks, Andrew Vaughn among those on hand. On the White Sox off-day, the team took this opportunity to help a teammate and come together for a better cause.

“Especially after the past two years, we haven’t been able to have a lot of events, where we’ve been able to be together in person,” O’Reilly-Riordan said. “Tim’s got amazing support from his teammates, so many of them are here. We’re just so thrilled with all the supporters that are out here to help Tim and Bria make a real difference.”

The event featured an extensive collection of White Sox and Tim Anderson items to bid on and a 32-person ping-pong tournament that saw Cease face off against Gavin Sheets in the first round. Sheets won, 11-6.

“The ping-pong aspect of it, in the Minor Leagues a lot of the guys spent time in the clubhouse playing ping-pong during the downtime or rain delays,” Bria Anderson said. “So Tim just kind of figured it would be an authentic, genuine vibe for all of the guys to kind of get together for a good cause.”

Anderson’s foundation is “an organization that seeks to build character and leadership in our youth.” What happened to Tim’s best friend is something that the League of Leaders tries to prevent and Tim and Bria’s goal is to bring unity and safety to different communities.

“Fortunate to reach so many youth, not just on the South Side of Chicago, but also in Tuscaloosa, Alabama,” Bria said. “We mainly work with youth that are impacted by violence and community violence.”