Free Throwz

Happy New Year! Your support is making sports available to ALL kids- thank you!
Free Throwz is now available on AmazonSmile, an easy way to have your Amazon purchases make a difference!

On Friday, August 19, The San Diego Padres recognized my work with Free Throwz with The Tony Gwynn Community All-Stars Award. This award was launched on MLB Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn’s birthday in May, recognizing youth for their service to communities around San Diego County. Giving back to the community was something very important to Tony Gwynn so the Padres started this program in his honor. Alicia Gwynn, CEO of Gwynn Sports and Tony Gwynn’s wife, and Erik Greupner, CEO of the Padres, presented the award and gift to me and three other recipients on the field before the game.

It’s an honor to be given this recognition and more importantly, this donation to Free Throwz, where we can continue our mission to provide sports equipment to kids in need. I’m working on some other ideas, too, to give more kids the opportunity to play organized sports in their communities. I’m also proud to announce that Free Throwz is now officially a 501c3 organization. This is a huge step for Free Throwz and something I’ve thought about doing for awhile, to help us expand our reach.

Thank you Padres Foundation and Alicia Gwynn, for believing in Free Throwz and me! It’s a thrill to be one of the inaugural award recipients and I really appreciate everything you’ve done!

Friday night capped off an amazing week. I’d just moved to LA to start college, moving into my dorm at USC on Wednesday. I came back down to San Diego to receive this award. This is definitely a week I won’t forget!

Los Angeles and Orange County-based Tiyya Foundation, has helped thousands of families with educational opportunities, career placement and basic necessities for several years. Director of Operations, Shukry Cattan, was the first person at the organization that I contacted last fall. Once Shukry told me that they were planning to launch a youth soccer program in 2022 and could definitely use soccer balls, I knew Free Throwz was a good fit!

Founded in 2010, Tiyya Foundation provides economic and educational opportunities for families of immigrants, refugees and indigenous communities. They help their participants become self-sufficient and overcome obstacles to actively participate in society. The program is so effective because it was founded by refugees who understand deeply the loss and trauma refugees have experienced and the enormous challenges refugees face in a new country.

Inclusion, kindness, empowerment, economic advancement—these are Tiyya Foundation’s core values and how their participants move forward, experience communities of support, and have access to economic opportunities to become self-sufficient.

When Jack and I arrived at Tiyya Foundation to drop off their donation, a video production team from Chapman University was filming a documentary about the organization. We tried not to interrupt while delivering the soccer balls to Case Manager, Mahmood Omid, but we may have got in the film!

It’s organizations like Tiyya Foundation, that show us the great work being done to lift up communities. We’re so fortunate to have met this amazing organization and we're so glad the soccer ball donations will help the kids in their program.

Let’s continue to help make sports accessible to all kids! Please help share our mission, Because Everyone Deserves to Have a Ball!

And a big thanks to Jack Herz, for all your help in spreading the word and helping to make this delivery a reality!