As the baseball player moved from one team to another, Granderson raised money for local food banks.
But his heart never left his hometown of Chicago.
Helping kids is something of a family tradition for Curtis Granderson.
The retired MLB player grew up in the suburbs of Chicago.
His father was an elementary school coach and his mother, a high school science teacher.
(His sister is now a college professor.)
Like them, he decided to focus on children.
“It’s going to be hard for me to focus.”
My brother’s not here.
Can I bring a meal home for him?”
And that’s when Granderson realized improving childhood nutrition was bigger than serving a healthy lunch.
Every November since then, the supermarkets encourage shoppers to donate money and food at the cash register.
Granderson retired from baseball and returned to Chicago permanently just before the pandemic hit.
The Grand Giving campaign didn’t lose a beat.
Last November alone, Grand Giving raised $200,000.
“As a celebrity and athlete, we just have a bigger reach,” he says.
