Nicknamed the “Grandyman,” Curtis Granderson had a 16-year MLB career playing for the Detroit Tigers, Blue Jays, Brewers, Dodgers, Marlins, and the Mets. He’s a three-time MLB All-Star and recipient of the Silver Slugger Award in 2011. Since leaving active play, he’s become a host for MLB games on the TBS network, and he serves as president of the Players Alliance, an organization of former MLB players that want to increase the opportunities available to Black athletes in professional baseball. But even from his earliest MLB days, Granderson has excelled on a different playing field, namely giving back.
Why They Made the Worthy 100: In 2007, he founded the Grand Kids Foundation, a charity still going strong today to keep children healthy and active. Through the GKF, Granderson has held various athletic events and day camps for kids in Chicago and Detroit. He joined Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign in 2010. But as Granderson grew more aware of the U.S. hunger problem in lower-income areas, he had the GKF branch into that arena. He partnered with the Greater Chicago Food Depository and, in 2013, extended that partnership to Chicago supermarket retailer Mariano’s. The trio held the first annual Grand Giving food drive and have since done so every November. This past year, even amidst the pandemic, Grand Giving collected more than $200,000 for needy families.
