Epstein announces $150K grant to program for underprivileged youth

Back when Theo Epstein was with the Red Sox, Paul Epstein told him that if he didn’t use his platform and power for good, his fraternal brother was going to disown him. Now nearly eight years later, the two stood side-by-side smiling while announcing their newest charitable endeavor.

The Epstein brothers’ foundation, named Foundation to be Named Later, presented BASE, a Boston-based program that inspires disadvantaged youth to further their education, with a $150,000 grant to help bring it to Chicago.

The BASE model uses baseball as the hook for underprivileged youth to emphasize the importance of academics and getting involved in your community.

“We’re all asset driven and we have everything about earning your spot, excellence is the new minimum, and success lives here,” BASE President Robert Lewis Jr. said. “These are characteristics and values that BASE represents.”

The grant will help BASE build a headquarters in Garfield Park neighborhood on Chicago’s West Side. The building will feature a baseball training facility, classrooms and area for youth ages 4 to 18 to hang out after school.

Lewis said the program has raised $35 million in academic scholarships and has sent 194 teenagers to college over the last four years.

“Former gang members are showing up everyday on time and playing baseball … You’ve got kids going to college and college presidents giving scholarships and these kids are succeeding,” Lewis said. “That’s what usually doesn’t happen in the hood, but we’re shifting that narrative to show that if you get community people and you’re putting in place the right programs and resources anything can happen.”

BASE has found success on the baseball diamond, too. They’re three-time national championships at youth baseball’s top level.

The program is free for participants, but they have to earn their spots by showing they’re committed both to the game and their academics. Lewis called it, “sweat equity.”

For Epstein, it was a “no brainer” to bring BASE to Chicago after it proved to be a success.

“We didn’t bring everything from Boston with us to Chicago when we started with the Cubs. We didn’t bring all the Red Sox players; we just brought the ones like Jon Lester that we really wanted,” Epstein joked. “We didn’t bring all the Red Sox philosophy to Chicago. We just brought the part that really works. And I feel like that’s what’s happening with here today with BASE coming to Chicago.”

BASE is aiming to open its Chicago headquarters in June 2018, according to Lewis.

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