BISHOP WELCOMES RENAMED JACKIE ROBINSON BOYS & GIRLS CLUB OF CAIRO-GRADY COUNTY AT RIBBON CUTTING CEREMONY

CAIRO, GA – Today, Saturday March 16, 2013, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop Jr. (GA-02) gave remarks at the newly renamed Jackie Robinson Boys & Girls Club of Cairo-Grady County ribbon cutting ceremony. Ground was broken at a new adjoining baseball field at the same ceremony. Congressman Bishop assisted with funding for the Boys & Girls Club through a $75,000 federal grant in 2010.

“It has been said that the true person of success is not the person that climbs of this life with two hands, but climbs the ladder of this life with one hand and reaches back with the other. Jackie Robinson did that,” said Congressman Bishop. “Fittingly, the Jackie Robinson Foundation has continued his legacy, and has done so much to coach and mentor youth as they climb the ladder in life in order to succeed and grow in fundamental values and in leadership. Jackie Robinson was a trailblazer for others to follow, and the Foundation does much to uphold his memory and fill the shoes in which he ran so swiftly.”

In attendance were the Mayor of the City of Cairo Richard Van Landingham, Frank Sanchez of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Teresa Harris of the Boys & Girls Club of Cairo-Grady County, Charles Renaud of the Jackie Robinson Foundation, members of the Robinson Family including Dr. Linda Walden and daughter Sharon Robinson, Willie C. Harris a former MLB player and member of the 2005 World Champion White Sox team, the oldest living player in the former Negro League Roosevelt Jackson, 5-time Olympian, and WNBA Player Teresa Edwards, former undisputed World Heavy Weight Champion Evander Holyfield, former NFL defensive back Myron Guyton, former MLB shortstop/third baseman Ernest Riles, and members of the Cairo and Grady County community.

The renamed Boys & Girls Club is the Cairo-Grady County Unit of the Marguerite Neel Williams Boys & Girls Clubs. The Boys & Girls Club is a youth development organization dedicated to promoting the health, social, educational, vocational, and character development of boys and girls. It aims to help young people improve their lives by building self-esteem and developing values and skills during critical periods of growth.