Learning to Give, Philanthropy education resources that teach giving and civic engagement
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Sports Heroes and Private Action for the Public Good
Lesson 1:
Purpose:
To introduce students to famous people who have acted for the public good and to identify how philanthropy affects the public good.
Duration:
One or Two Fifty-Minute Class Periods
Objectives:
The learner will:
- list sports and philanthropic accomplishments of Jackie Robinson, Arthur Ashe, and Jackie-Joyner Kerseee.
- identify the benefits of private action for the public good.
Materials:
- Sports Heroes Analysis Chart Attachment One
- Athlete Biographies (Optional):
Jackie Robinson Attachment Two
Arthur Ashe Attachment Three
Jackie Joyner-Kersee Attachment Four
- Internet access may be used instead of the handouts.
Teacher Preparation:
Anticipatory Set:
Write Jackie Robinson, Arthur Ashe, and Jackie Joyner-Kersee on the chalkboard. Ask students if they know anything about them. What is each person’s sport? (baseball, tennis and track) Why is each well known? (They excelled in their sports and were excellent athletes.) What do they have in common? (Various answers possible: they were great achievers in their sport; two were famous long ago; they broke racial barriers.) Discuss and/or list the information on the overhead or board. Explain to students that they will be learning something else about these celebrity athletes that they probably do not know.
- Distribute Sports Heroes Analysis Chart (see Attachment One). Using the following questions, discuss the column labeled philanthropy:
- What does philanthropy mean? (the giving of one's time, talent or money to the benefit of humanity)
- Ask students to give an example of philanthropic actions. (These examples might include United Way, Red Cross blood donors, church youth groups, soup kitchen volunteers, Andrew Carnegie building libraries, groups to change laws, civic participation for improving communities.)
- What are the benefits of private action for the public good? Can students identify how these actions they listed help the public?
- Ask the students if these philanthropic actions show responsibility? In what philanthropies do they already participate? (For example, they might suggest scouting projects, school projects that help others, such as collecting cans of food for the needy, neighborhood clean-up projects, or environmental projects.)
- Ask the students what they might like to do to be a responsible citizen. What is a responsible citizen? (One who acts in a virtuous and ethically responsible way as a member of society.) Ask students to consider the effects of an individual's actions on other people. Explain that they are going to learn with what philanthropies Jackie Robinson, Arthur Ashe and Jackie Joyner-Kersee were or are involved.
- Divide the class into groups of three to five students and assign each group one of the athletes listed on the chart. Using Derek Jeters as an example, show students how to fill in the chart for their athlete:
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Hero
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Sports Achievement
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Philanthropic Achievements
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Impact on the Community
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Derek Jeters
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NY Yankees Shortstop
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Jeter began the Turn 2 Foundation
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Since 1996 has raised over $8 million dollars to provide youth with a place to “turn to” in place of drugs and alcohol
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- Have each group research their sports hero, filling in the information on the chart. The information may be gathered as a research project on the Internet or in the library or using the attached handouts as the source of information. When all groups have completed their task, return the class to a whole group format. Combine the information obtained.
Day Two:
- As a whole class, share the information from the chart completed on the previous day.Ask the students how the information was new or surprising to them. A large copy of the chart can be posted in the room, or the chart can be displayed using computer projection or an overhead projector transparency.
- Distribute The Matching Game game board (Attachment Five) and tell the learners that they are going to play “The Match Game.”In this game the people listed on the game board are famous philanthropists. The challenge is for the learners to see how much they might already know about the philanthropists listed on the game board. Randomly read each philanthropist’s story from the handout Matching Game: Philanthropist Stories (Attachment Six) and give the learners time to find the name of the philanthropist that they think the story represents and have them place an “x” that box. The first learners to ‘”x”-out four across or five down /or five on an angle “wins” the match game. Verify the correct responses by having the learner call out the names of the people they have ‘x’-ed to be sure that the names match the stories that were read. Playing this game a few times will give the learners more opportunities to learn about the philanthropists and their contributions to the public good.
Assessment:
Pair each student with a partner. At the completion of the lesson, each student should describe to his or her partner a way that society as a whole benefits from philanthropy or the good actions of its citizens. Taking turns, each partner should state a sports achievement, philanthropic achievement and the impact on the community of a sports hero studied today.
Cross-Curriculum Extensions:
Have students visit North Texas University's Athletic Barrier Breakers at http://www.unt.edu/50yearsofprogress/athleticeventbreakers.htm. This site is the source of information on "African American Barrier Breakers in Sports." Have students complete the chart below and then visit the biography site at the same address and find out more about these athletes and others. This chart can also be edited to include women or other ethnic groups. Search the Internet with the terms "barrier breakers" to access other resources about sports legends.
Baseball Football Basketball Hockey Golf Tennis Jackie Robinson Charles Follis Earl Lloyd Willie O'Ree John Shippen Althea Gibson
Bibliographical References:
- Ashe, Arthur: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/tennis/features/1997/arthurashe/sport1.html (This site is a good site for Ashe's philosophy and philanthropic activities.)
- Joyner-Kersee, Jackie:
http://espn.go.com/classic/biography/s/joyner-kersee_jackie.html (sports).
http://www.athletesforhope.org/jajo.html (philanthropy).
- Jackie Robinson: The Jackie Robinson Society, most complete Jackie Robinson site on the Web — http://www.jackierobinson.org/about/jackie.php
Lesson Developed By:
Cythia MilesMt. Pleasant Public Schools
Mt. Pleasant High School
Mt. Pleasant, MI 48858
Handouts:
Handout 1Print Handout 1
Sports Heroes Analysis Chart
| Hero | Sports Achievements | Philanthropic Achievements | Impact on the Community |
| Jackie Robinson
Source: |
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| Arthur Ashe
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| Jackie Joyner-Kersee
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Handout 2Print Handout 2
Athlete Biographies: Jackie Robinson
b. 1919, d. 1972. Grandson of slaves, Jackie Robinson was born in Georgia and moved to Pasadena, California as a baby. At high school and at the University of California (UCLA) he lettered in football, basketball, baseball and track. In the army during World War II, he trained soldiers to drive army tanks but found that he encountered racism, which he actively resisted. When the war was over in 1945, Jackie decided to play pro baseball. Because at that time blacks were not allowed to play in the major leagues, he played with the Negro leagues. On long trips by bus, they often found that restaurants did not serve food to blacks and they had to eat outside. Then Branch Rickey, who ran the major league Brooklyn Dodgers, came up with a plan to integrate the major leagues. Mr. Rickey wanted someone who could stand up to taunts from bullies and racists and not lose his temper. Mr. Rickey said, "I'm looking for a ballplayer with guts enough not to fight back." When he started playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, Jackie faced many tests and he passed them all, even when there were insults, name calling, balls pitched at his head and death threats.With support from his wife Rachel, African American fans and eventually some of his fellow Dodgers, he was able to withstand the pressure and achieve great heights. In 1947, he was the National League MVP. His breakthrough into major league sports helped many Americans change their thinking and paved the way for many black athletes to come after him.
Jackie Robinson retired after the 1956 season and by that time, nearly every team in baseball had African American players and most pro teams in other sports also had black players. When he retired from baseball, he became active in the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) as a main speaker at fundraisers. He received the NAACP's Spingarn Medal for meritorious service to Black America. He also served as chairman of the Freedom Fund Drive, which aimed to raise $1 million for Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
In 1957 he wrote a letter to President Eisenhower encouraging the president to take action against Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus, who was trying to prevent integration of the Little Rock schools. He became active in politics at the national level supporting various presidential candidates. He also traveled with Reverend Martin Luther King to Birmingham, Alabama to work on civil rights issues.
Handout 3Print Handout 3
Athlete Biographies: Arthur Ashe
b. 1943, d. 1993In 1968 he became the first African American tennis player to win a major men's tennis title, the U.S. National Amateur Singles competition. Also that year he won the U.S. Open and was the first African American to play on the U.S. Davis Cup team. He turned professional and won the Australian Open in 1970 and Wimbledon in 1975. He suffered a mild heart attack, had triple bypass surgery and retired from competitive tennis. He later had additional heart bypass surgery, which is when he contracted AIDS from a blood transfusion. He died 10 months later from AIDS-related infections. In 1997, a new tennis stadium in Flushing Meadows, N.Y., was named for him.
Arthur Ashe took a role in the political arena in opposing the Bush administration's policy toward Haitian refugees, and in projects such as demonstrations against apartheid in South Africa. The various programs he supported were combined into four categories under the Arthur Ashe Foundation. Funding and assistance are granted to programs that fall under: 1) education and literacy, 2) student athletes and mentoring, 3) at-risk youth/inner city tennis, and, 4) public health.
Handout 4Print Handout 4
Athlete Biographies: Jackie Joyner-Kersee
b. 1962. In her autobiography, Jackie Joyner-Kersee describes humble beginnings. Jackie's parents were very young when they married. Jackie, her parents, paternal grandmother, and three siblings shared a home in East St. Louis, Illinois. Jackie grew up in a neighborhood that had strong community ties yet was plagued with violence.
At age ten, through a program at the Mary E. Brown Community Center, Jackie began training and competing in track and field events. Jackie's stellar athletic performances in high school brought her attention and an opportunity to attend college. Jackie was offered college scholarships in both track and basketball. She accepted a basketball scholarship from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Jackie's college coach, Bob Kersee encouraged her to train and compete in multiple events. Jackie eventually quit basketball to train in track and field as an Olympic hopeful. In the 1988 Olympics, Joyner-Kersee won a gold medal in the heptathlon and took the gold medal in the long jump, flying a phenomenal 24 feet, 3.5 inches. In 1992, Jackie took home another Olympic gold medal in the heptathlon and a bronze in the long jump. In the1996 Olympics, Jackie was forced to withdraw from the heptathlon due a hamstring injury. However, she went on to capture the bronze medal in the long jump.
Jackie Joyner-Kersee's professional athletic career spanned two decades. Jackie Joyner-Kersee, through her athletic achievements, has earned the title of the "world's greatest female athlete.” Among many notable accomplishments, she won three gold, one silver and two bronze medals over four consecutive Olympic games. Joyner-Kersee was the first woman to earn more than 7,000 points in the Olympic heptathlon. She continues to hold the world record in the heptathlon: 7,291 points. She also holds the Olympic and national records in the long jump. These accomplishments and the example of her life make Jackie Joyner-Kersee a hero, a humanitarian, a symbol of strength and courage, an overcomer, an achiever, and a role model for our youth.
Not as heavily publicized, Jackie has also stood out as a philanthropist through her generosity, kind spirit, and dedication to the development of young people, particularly in her hometown of East St. Louis, Illinois. She established the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Community Foundation in 1988. In 1997, the Foundation joined with the East St. Louis Youth Center Foundation to form the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Youth Center Foundation, of which Jackie serves as chairperson. The Foundation has partnered with Boys & Girls Clubs to create the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Boys & Girls Club. The Foundation and Boys & Girls Club serve the citizens of East St. Louis.
Handout 5Print Handout 5
Matching Game
Matching Game
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Madame C.J. Walker
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Andrew Carnegie
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Mother Teresa
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Andrew Shue
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Princess Diana
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Ted Turner
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Jimmy Carter
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Milton S. Hershey
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Derek Jeter
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Nane Alejandrez
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Cesar Chavez
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Oprah Winfrey
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Eunice Kennedy Shriver
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Bill and Camille Cosby
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Denzel Washington
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Garth Brooks
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Barney
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Martin Luther King Jr.
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Joan Ganz Cooney
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Paul Newman & Joanne Woodward
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Handout 6Print Handout 6
The Matching Game: Philanthropist Stories
The Match Game: Philanthropist Stories
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Story
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Person
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1. I founded a company that produced a line of beauty products for black women. I was America's first black female millionaire. I made many charitable contributions to the black community and specified in my will that my company continue such philanthropy after my death. Who am I?
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MADAM
C.J. WALKER
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2. I was a rich industrialist in the late 19th and early 20th century. By the time of my death, I had given away $350,695,653. To this day, many libraries and educational institutions still bear my name. I also wrote a book about my philosophy of philanthropy, titled, “Wealth.” Who am I?
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ANDREW
CARNEGIE
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3. I spent most of my long life as a nun ministering to the poorest of the poor in Calcutta, India. Even before my death in 1997, people had been considering that I might become a Saint by the Catholic Church. Who am I?
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MOTHER
TERESA
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4. Best known as a heartthrob of Melrose Place, I used my star status to found the “Do Something” organization, a non-profit youth organization. Its Mission Statement reads, “We inspire young people to believe that change is possible, and we train, fund, and mobilize them to be leaders who measurably strengthen their communities.” Who am I?
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ANDREW
SHUE
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5. Despite adulthood documented by the media and a messy divorce from a prince. I am, perhaps, best loved for my charitable efforts which included AIDS work and an effort to ban the use of land mines. Who am I?
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PRINCESS
DIANA
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6. Best known as an outspoken media mogul, owner of the Atlanta Braves and CNN Broadcasting, I recently pledged $1 billion to the United Nations. Who am I?
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TED
TURNER
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7. As a former United States President, I have become highly regarded in recent years for my work with Habitat for Humanity and my efforts to promote peace and justice around he world. Who am I?
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JIMMY
CARTER
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8. After many failed business ventures, I finally found success with a simple chocolate bar. I founded a community in Pennsylvania to provide homes for my employees. One of my favorite philanthropic endeavors was a home and school for orphan boys that I founded and supported for many years. Who am I?
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MILTON S.
HERSHEY
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9. For the last 15 years, I have been at the top of the talk show ratings. I have been vocal about wanting to steer clear of trashy topics and have a positive effect on my viewers. I have tried to encourage reading through my book club and encourage philanthropy through my Angel Network. Who am I?
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OPRAH
WINFREY
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10. During my lifetime, I was committed to the cause of Civil Rights. I fought segregation, even went to jail for my beliefs. I led the March on Washington and my “I Have a Dream” speech has served as a rallying cry for the Civil Rights Movement. Who am I?
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MARTIN
LUTHER
KING, JR.
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11. I dedicated my life to serving humanity by improving the working conditions of migrant farm workers in America and advancing the ideals of equality and civil rights for everyone. I founded the United Farm Workers (UFW). Like my contemporary, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I used nonviolent reform, such as pickets, boycotts and peaceful demonstrations. To establish minimum wage standards, wage contracts, safer working conditions, child labor reform, and advancement in civil rights for Chicanos and other farm workers...Who am I?
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CÉSAR
CHÁVEZ
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12. I was a fourteen-year-old illiterate gang member who drug trafficked and started a gang of my own. In prison, I met a “lifer” who taught me how to read. When I was released, I started “X-HOODS”, an organization, which worked with young people to “X” out all the bad elements in themselves and their community. I went to law school, am a Director of the YMCA, and founder of the Boston Urban Edge's Youth Police partnership. Who am I?
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NANE
ALEJANDREZ
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13. I come from a very famous family. We have had lots of tragedy in the family including a sister who was mentally challenged. I have been an advocate for the mentally challenged for years, but am proudest of the establishment of the Special Olympics. Over one million people have participated from 130 countries in this movement. Who am I?
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EUNICE
KENNEDY
SHRIVER
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14. My husband is better known than I am. He has been a leading television star and stand-up comedian for many years. We both have a strong belief in education for all children. To that end we have given money to several colleges and have provided scholarships for over 60 learners to attend college. We both speak on behalf of the importance of gaining an education and both of us have received honorary doctorates for this work. Who are we?
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BILL
AND CAMILLE
COSBY
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15. Big Bird, Ernie, and Elmo are my friends. They help me provide wholesome television for preschool children. I am the founder of the Popular Children's Television Workshop and the Creator of “Sesame Street.” Who am I?
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JOAN GANZ
COONEY
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16. I have been awarded two Golden Globe awards, a Tony Award and two Academy Awards for my acting. I was the second African American man (after Sidney Poitier) to win the Academy Award for Best Actor for my role in the 2001 film Training Day. I keep busy with films and with my volunteer work. I am currently serving as the spokesperson for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. I do this because I was a member of a club. In addition, I support the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund and a home for people with AIDS. Who am I?
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DENZEL
WASHINGTON
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17. “Touch ‘em all: Teammates for Kids” is the name of my foundation. I have organized a group of major league baseball players, entertainers, and corporations to come together and support causes for kids. You may know me by my black cowboy hat I wear when I perform. Who am I?
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GARTH
BROOKS
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18. He and his wife were two of the finest actors in the country. Both were considered to be philanthropists — she in the arts, especially ballet and he in causes for children. He funded his efforts by selling salad dressings, sauces, and popcorn. His charitable contributions since 1981 have been over 295 million dollars. Who are they?
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PAUL NEWMAN
and
JOANNE WOODWARD
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19. I am cuddly, funny, and have big feet. I tell stories to children about caring and sharing. Some people say that I am the first “person” to talk to children about helping the family and community. If you love the color, purple, you will love me! Who am I?
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BARNEY
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20. I am a Major League Baseball player who began the Turn 2 Foundation in 1996 to help children and teenagers avoid drug and alcohol addiction, and to reward those who show high academic achievement. Who am I?
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DEREK JETER
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Unit Contents:
Overview:Sports Legends and Philanthropy—Jackie Robinson, Arthur Ashe, and Jackie Joyner-Kersee Summary
Lessons:
- 1.
- Sports Heroes and Private Action for the Public Good
- 2.
- Philanthropy of Sports Heroes and Myself
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