MLB donates $10,000 to local Compton charity to help 'Feed the Hungry' during the holidays

Major League Baseball has donated $10,000 to the Mozel Sanders Foundation for the organization’s annual “Mozel Sanders Thanksgiving Dinner West Coast,” which will feed approximately 5,000 homeless people and families in Compton, California. Additionally, young participants of the MLB Urban Youth Academy in Compton will help serve the meals at the event, which will be held at Compton Community College on Thanksgiving Day, November 22^nd from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The local dinner is a collaborative effort between the Mozel Sanders Foundation, Major League Baseball, the City of Compton, Compton Community College District, clergy, entrepreneurs, businesses, churches and community and political leaders.

“Major League Baseball is a social institution with important social responsibilities, but perhaps most importantly, we are members of communities that sustain our clubs, facilities and initiatives,” said Frank Robinson, Executive Vice President, Baseball Development, Major League Baseball. “The Compton community has been tremendously supportive of our efforts at the MLB Urban Youth Academy to provide local youth with opportunities on and off the field, so, we are pleased to give back to those in this area who are in need during this holiday season.”

The late Dr. Rev Mozel Sanders was best known throughout the state of Indiana for feeding families in need, thereby creating the Annual Mozel Sanders Thanksgiving Dinner and establishing Mt. Vernon as a beacon of hope for the urban communities of Indianapolis. Today, forty-one years after its birth, the Thanksgiving Dinner Event has served 40,000 dinners to families each year. Help is solicited from hundreds of volunteers at 37 satellite locations comprised of churches, care facilities and community service centers. In 2011, Mozel Sanders’ Board of Directors decided to expand to the West Coast.  Carrying on the legacy of Rev. Dr. Sanders, his son Bishop Richard D. Sanders saw an immediate need to feed the hungry in the Compton community.  This year, with the goal of feeding 5,000 people, Sanders set out to raise support for his efforts, and Major League Baseball, with Robinson’s daughter Nichelle Robinson playing a key role in the process, immediately donated to accompany the efforts of Mayor Eric Perrodin, City of Compton and Dr. Keith Curry of Compton Community College District.

“When we first introduced my father’s dream to Southern California one year ago, the goal was to extend the vision to the West Coast. I am appreciative to all who will help carry on the legacy of my father today,” said Bishop Richard D. Sanders, Chief Operating Officer, Mozel Sanders Thanksgiving Dinner West Coast, Inc.

The MLB Urban Youth Academy is part of Major League Baseball’s Urban Youth Initiative. Encompassing more than 20 acres on the campus of El Camino College, Compton Center, the Academy operates on a year-round basis, offering free baseball and softball instruction, as well as clinics to youth throughout Southern California. For more information, please visit YouthBaseballAcademy.com.