Killebrew charity work will continue

StarTribune.com ^ | 5/23/11 | Jean Hopfensperger

[ButThreeLeftsDo]

In the final months of his life, Harmon Killebrew outlined the legacy he wanted to leave in the communities where he had lived and played.

Ensuring that his Harmon Killebrew Foundation remained strong was a priority, said foundation president Jason Coffel, so he could continue to spread his love for baseball even after death.

Killebrew drew up a list of immediate goals: construction of baseball fields for disabled children in the Twin Cities, the state of Idaho and Washington, D.C. (through the nonprofit "Miracle League"), plus a scholarship fund at his alma mater, Payette High School in Payette, Idaho.

More projects will be funded down the road, Coffel said, most related to children and baseball.

"We had a lot of conversations," said Coffel, a controller at Ecolab in St. Paul. "He wanted to make sure more kids had an opportunity to play baseball at fields suited for their needs."

Although the foundation has funded children's hospitals and natural disaster relief in places such as Haiti and Texas in the past, those projects will be put on a back burner as the focus shifts to baseball fields, he said.

[ButThreeLeftsDo]

I lost one of my heros last week.

And, in death, he continues to be one of the greatest men to ever put on a pair of cleats....

[DManA]

World’s a little better place for him having lived.

[jac643]

thanks for sharing this message.