LOS ANGELES — On the eve of the Jackie Robinson Foundation’s annual Mentoring and Leadership Conference for college students and annual Robie Awards gala on Monday in New York City, the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation (LADF) announced an $800,000 grant to the Jackie Robinson Foundation (JRF). With this grant for the 2019-2020 academic year, support from the Dodgers and LADF to JRF now totals more than $3.5 million since 1987.

LADF will support 11 JRF/LADF Scholars through their college years, two of which have also been supported by former Dodgers player Andre Ethier.

“Jackie Robinson’s legacy plays a significant role in our foundation’s work,” said LADF’s CEO and Jackie Robinson Foundation Alumnus, Nichol Whiteman. “One-third of first-generation college students will leave college with no return to enrollment. With our continued commitment, we remain dedicated to providing access and ensuring students graduate.”

JRF/LADF Scholars currently attend universities such as Stanford University, UCLA, California State University, Northridge, USC, and California State University, East Bay

“The Jackie Robinson Foundation is thrilled to expand its relationship with the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation,” said JRF’s President & CEO, Della Britton Baeza. “Jackie Robinson and the Dodgers share a long and deep history. We are grateful that the Dodgers continue to celebrate these intertwined legacies by supporting so many talented JRF Scholars who go on to positively impact communities around the world.”

LADF will also host JRF Scholars for a private luncheon on Monday in New York City, where they will network and learn from staff in a special career panel opportunity.

About the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation

The Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation is bigger than baseball with ambitions to be the city’s premier charity. We want to impact Los Angeles’ most pressing problems: improving access to education, health care, affordable housing, youth programs and social justice. Since 1995, we have invested more than $30 million in programs and grants to nonprofits, and fundraising has increased by 1,000% since 2012. That growth has enabled us to do more.

Visit LADF online at follow them on Twitter, @DodgersFdn, Instagram @dodgersfoundation and like them on Facebook at LosAngelesDodgersFoundation

About the Jackie Robinson Foundation
For over 47 years, the Jackie Robinson Foundation (JRF) has perpetuated the memory of Jackie Robinson by providing generous scholarships in conjunction with four years of comprehensive support to 242 minority college students each year to ensure their success and develop their leadership potential. A new online platform, JRF Impact, shares the Foundation’s celebrated “42 Strategies for Success” curriculum with a broader student population attending colleges across the country. In 2020, with the opening of the Jackie Robinson Museum in New York City, the Foundation will build on Robinson’s legacy by educating and inspiring the general public around his expansive story and the ideals and values that defined his life. Learn more by visiting www.jackierobinson.org.