In an effort to quell gun violence across the city and nation, the Chicago Sports Alliance, in partnership with the Chicago Bears, Blackhawks, Bulls, Cubs and White Sox along with the support of the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, announced it will commit $300,000 to the Sandy Hook Promise Foundation and the Robb School Memorial Fund in the month May.
The strategic Sports Alliance group made up of several Chicago professional sports teams was created to address the violence issue head on. The group is also dedicated to lending its collective influence and resources to support data-driven, proven solutions impacting the root cause of gun violence
Twenty-one smiles in Uvalde, Texas, lost. Just days before that, 10 smiles in Buffalo, lost. And unfortunately, across our own city, too many smiles [are] lost to this same issue,” said the Sports Alliance group via a statement. “It is our responsibility to those innocent lives lost to do more. We are committed to making a difference through the resources in our power to [solve] this gun violence epidemic. Lives depend on it. This is not a game.”
According to the Sports Alliance group, each organization’s $50,000 commitment will help benefit the Sandy Hook Promise Foundation, a national nonprofit whose mission is to end school shootings and create cultural change that prevents violence and other harmful acts that hurt
children, as well as the official fund at First State Bank of Uvalde for the families affected by the tragedy in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, 2022.
Fans can learn more and donate directly to Sandy Hook Promise Foundation by visiting SandyHookPromise.org.
In addition, donations can be made directly to the Robb School Memorial Fund with First State Bank of Uvalde by check through the mail (payable to the “Robb School Memorial Fund”) or through Zelle to [email protected].
The Alliance has also invested $5 million in grants toward innovative solutions informed by the research and analysis of the University of Chicago Crime Lab. An additional $1.5 million in matching grants from the McCormick Foundation has also been provided since 2019, for a total of $6.5 million in funding.
Joseph Phillips is the Sports Editor for the Chicago Crusader Newspaper. He is a Chicago native, who has been a sports writer for over 17 years. He also hosts the SC Media News and Sports Network Q&A radio show on WHPK 88.5 FM Chicago.
