Obama praises Kansas City Royals for youth mentoring efforts during WH ceremony
WASHINGTON (Talk Media News)- President Barack Obama praised the Kansas City Royals for their youth mentoring efforts during a White House ceremony Thursday celebrating their World Series win last year.
“This spring the Royals broke ground on their urban youth academy in Kansas City,” Obama said. “A place for young people to not only steer clear of drugs and gangs, but to also learn skills that can lead to a better future.”
The Royals defeated the New York Mets during the 2015 World Series. Many Royals players have contributed both time and money towards the urban youth center, which offers underprivileged children access to tutoring programs, college preparation classes and career internship opportunities.
Obama said the programs offered by the Royals’ youth center are akin to that of White House initiatives such as My Brother’s Keeper, which partners with private sector organizations to help provide mentoring and educational opportunities to inner city youth.
The President also acknowledged the baseball team’s owners.
“I just want to recognize Royals’ ownership as well as players… who’ve donated millions of dollars towards supporting Kansas City’s young people.”
The President said an added bonus of the center is that it is located next to the city’s Negro League Baseball Museum, which honors the game’s most prominent African American players. The President also said that the center’s proximity to the museum should serve as an inspiration to future generations in light of earlier baseball legends.
“You can see the link between Jackie Robinson and Satchel Paige to Frank White to George Brett to Salvador Perez and Alex Gordon and the next generation of Kansas City baseball stars,” Obama said.
Obama stressed the importance baseball has had on American history and said he hopes other teams will emulate the Royals both on and off the field. The President also thanked the Royals for their community stewardship.
“I want to thank this group for not only writing the current chapter, but hopefully writing the next chapter of our national pastime: the great game of baseball,” Obama said.
This article is republished with permission from Talk Media News
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