The Jimmy Griffin Legacy Foundation
Donation protected
The world literally fell out from beneath my feet when we lost our Jimmy six years ago. I could barely breathe when I learned about Jimmy and just wanted everything to go away. Unfortunately, nothing went away.
My son, Jimmy Griffin, loved to play basketball. Ever since he was a little boy, he could be seen playing basketball. He played all through grade and high school and achieved his dream: a Division 1 college basketball scholarship. So this Southside Chicago, Irish Catholic boy brought his dream down to Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, in 2005. He made friends easily while there and played basketball with heart and determination.
His dream was cut short on September 8, 2009, when, at the age of 23, he unexpectedly passed away in his sleep. He had an undetectable heart defect.
Without any warning, we lost our Golden Boy. All who knew him were shocked and devastated by his passing.
Our lives are not the same and never will be again.
We started "The Jimmy Griffin Legacy Foundation" in order to keep Jimmy's memory and legacy alive. We want kids to know his name, and better still, be like Jimmy. We want other kids to make a difference, just like Jimmy did.
Over the past six years, we have netted over $237,000 and "paid it all forward" in his name to places he loved and where he was loved.
Jimmy's Foundation runs two basketball 3-on3 tournaments each year where kids like him can play and compete in basketball. We run a basketball skills clinic for the younger kids. We stress sportsmanship, toughness, and winning skills.
One of the tournaments is held at his grade school, St. Bede the Venerable, on the south side of Chicago for St. Bede students, and the primary one is held each March.
The primary 3 on Three for JG Basketball Tournament is held for grades 5 through adult along with the skills clinic for younger kids. This year it will be held on March 19, 2016. The sounds of basketballs dribbling, gym shoes squeaking, and whistles blowing all make Jimmy's memory real. Kids and adults alike come from all over to participate in the tournament.
There are special drawings, gift baskets, pro sports jerseys to bid on as part of the day's activities. ALL DONATED. Donated food is offered for free throughout the day. Volunteers work the day for Jimmy. Sponsors' names adorn the backs of the players' tee shirts. Monetary donations are added to the total raised. So many donors realize the importance of keeping Jimmy's memory and legacy alive and have asked us what could they do.
The monies raised are paid forward to St. Bede School and Church, Marist High School, Chicago, and Samford Univeristy, Birmingham, Alabama---all schools Jimmy attended. We have awarded over $110,000 in tuition scholarships, purchased 2 gym scoreboards, players' folding chairs, a sound system, and a Marist HS locker room. We have purchased items needed to update the church his family attends and the grade school he and his siblings attended. We have also donated to the American Heart Association and to the programs his college coaches now coach.
We have big plans to continue Jimmy's legacy. We want the Jimmy Griffin Scholars to emulate him and any boy or girl who participates in the basketball tournaments to think s/he can realize his/her dream........a dream that a young boy from Chicago once had, and one that he did realize.
We want to continue awarding tuition scholarships in order for boys and girls to be able to attend the schools of their choice. We want to continually update the learning environments of the schools Jimmy attended. We want the gyms Jimmy played in to be of top-notch quality. We want boys and girls to know the passion and the determination of my son, Jimmy Griffin, and to exude the same in their quests. And, finally, we want our Jimmy to give his famous "nod of approval" at what we are doing in his memory.
We would appreciate any donations in Jimmy's memory. My son means the world to me and keeping his memory, his legacy alive is what's keeping me going.
Gratefully,
Marge Griffin
Proud Mother of Jimmy Griffin
My son, Jimmy Griffin, loved to play basketball. Ever since he was a little boy, he could be seen playing basketball. He played all through grade and high school and achieved his dream: a Division 1 college basketball scholarship. So this Southside Chicago, Irish Catholic boy brought his dream down to Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, in 2005. He made friends easily while there and played basketball with heart and determination.
His dream was cut short on September 8, 2009, when, at the age of 23, he unexpectedly passed away in his sleep. He had an undetectable heart defect.
Without any warning, we lost our Golden Boy. All who knew him were shocked and devastated by his passing.
Our lives are not the same and never will be again.
We started "The Jimmy Griffin Legacy Foundation" in order to keep Jimmy's memory and legacy alive. We want kids to know his name, and better still, be like Jimmy. We want other kids to make a difference, just like Jimmy did.
Over the past six years, we have netted over $237,000 and "paid it all forward" in his name to places he loved and where he was loved.
Jimmy's Foundation runs two basketball 3-on3 tournaments each year where kids like him can play and compete in basketball. We run a basketball skills clinic for the younger kids. We stress sportsmanship, toughness, and winning skills.
One of the tournaments is held at his grade school, St. Bede the Venerable, on the south side of Chicago for St. Bede students, and the primary one is held each March.
The primary 3 on Three for JG Basketball Tournament is held for grades 5 through adult along with the skills clinic for younger kids. This year it will be held on March 19, 2016. The sounds of basketballs dribbling, gym shoes squeaking, and whistles blowing all make Jimmy's memory real. Kids and adults alike come from all over to participate in the tournament.
There are special drawings, gift baskets, pro sports jerseys to bid on as part of the day's activities. ALL DONATED. Donated food is offered for free throughout the day. Volunteers work the day for Jimmy. Sponsors' names adorn the backs of the players' tee shirts. Monetary donations are added to the total raised. So many donors realize the importance of keeping Jimmy's memory and legacy alive and have asked us what could they do.
The monies raised are paid forward to St. Bede School and Church, Marist High School, Chicago, and Samford Univeristy, Birmingham, Alabama---all schools Jimmy attended. We have awarded over $110,000 in tuition scholarships, purchased 2 gym scoreboards, players' folding chairs, a sound system, and a Marist HS locker room. We have purchased items needed to update the church his family attends and the grade school he and his siblings attended. We have also donated to the American Heart Association and to the programs his college coaches now coach.
We have big plans to continue Jimmy's legacy. We want the Jimmy Griffin Scholars to emulate him and any boy or girl who participates in the basketball tournaments to think s/he can realize his/her dream........a dream that a young boy from Chicago once had, and one that he did realize.
We want to continue awarding tuition scholarships in order for boys and girls to be able to attend the schools of their choice. We want to continually update the learning environments of the schools Jimmy attended. We want the gyms Jimmy played in to be of top-notch quality. We want boys and girls to know the passion and the determination of my son, Jimmy Griffin, and to exude the same in their quests. And, finally, we want our Jimmy to give his famous "nod of approval" at what we are doing in his memory.
We would appreciate any donations in Jimmy's memory. My son means the world to me and keeping his memory, his legacy alive is what's keeping me going.
Gratefully,
Marge Griffin
Proud Mother of Jimmy Griffin
Organizer
Kathy Downs Hughes
Organizer
Chicago, IL
