Boys and Girls Clubs of Miami

Alex Rodriguez joined the Boys and Girls Clubs of Miami in 1982. There he met Eddie Rodriguez (no relation), who realized Alex possessed an extraordinary talent for playing the game of baseball. Eddie enrolled him in the summer baseball program, where the 7-year-old Alex was soon playing in the pre-teen baseball league. Alex flourished at the Club, staying a member until the day he was drafted by the Seattle Mariners. Once Alex achieved success in Major League Baseball, he decided he needed to repay the Club, so the Alex Rodriguez Evening with the All Stars benefit was created. The first benefit was held in 1998. It was a modest success -- selling approximately 250 tickets and raising approximately $25,000. Five benefits have since been hosted, raising well over a half million dollars for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Miami.

Alex has decided to embark on the second stage of his charitable endeavors in Miami. The Alex Rodriguez Learning Center -- an educational facility for the advancement of literacy, computer study and math -- will be constructed at the Hank Kline Unit. Once completed, the center will have multiple computer labs, homework and study rooms, an art room and a large library. Alex personally pledged half a million dollars to the project. Construction will begin in 2005.

In 2003, Alex made a significant donation to the University of Miami. This endowment includes scholarship money for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Miami. One student from the organization will be awarded a four-year scholarship to the University each year. The scholarship will be awarded for perpetuity, so an unlimited number of children will benefit from this donation.

In 2004, Alex decided to play Santa Claus to the Boys and Girls Clubs, so he founded AROD's Christmas Party. He hosted 150 children from the Hank Kline Unit. The children were treated to pizza and snacks, and both Alex and Santa Claus handed out gifts to all the children. Each child received over $200 in gifts, as well as a baseball signed by Alex. They were also treated to a reading of The Polar Express, and ended the day with a Christmas dance.

In 2005, Alex hosted the Dewar's 12 Texas Hold'em Poker Tournament to benefit the construction of the Learning Center. The inaugural event was successful, drawing huge names from the entertainment and music worlds, and raising enough money to finish the first part of the Center's capital campaign.

Click here to go to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Miami official Web site.

Boys and Girls Clubs of America (National)

Alex is a national spokesman for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. He champions Campaign 3 P.M, which is the Boys and Girls Clubs national initiative to enroll every child in America in an after-school program. This landmark campaign is one of the Boys and Girls Clubs most aggressive efforts, for it is the first time in its history a bilingual approach has been taken. All television and radio PSA's, as well as print materials were issued in both English and Spanish.

Click here to go to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America official Web site.

RBI Program (Boys and Girls Clubs of America)

During the 2002 baseball season, Alex partnered with Microsoft and HP to form the AROD RBI Program. For each home run Alex hit in the regular season, HP donated one computer and Microsoft donated one complete suite of Microsoft software and an operating system. The computers and software were donated to the Boys and Girls Clubs of the host team's city. For example, if Alex hit a home run while playing the Boston Red Sox at Fenway, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston would benefit. 57 systems were donated that year, and clubs in over fifteen cities benefited from this particular program.

University of Miami

In January 2003, Alex donated $3.9 million dollars to the University of Miami. The money will be directed to the construction costs stemming from the remodeling of the baseball stadium. In addition to covering the construction costs, this endowment includes the scholarship money for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Miami.

Basketball Tournament

In 2002, Alex founded the ARod Basketball Classic, a basketball tournament benefiting Miami-Dade area charities. The three-day event has grown into an eight team tournament, drawing basketball talent from all over the country. Schools from Alex's high school conference host the tournament each year. Alex donates raffle prizes and tournament prizes, and the participants are treated to autographs, meetings with Alex, and goodie bags filled with NIKE merchandise.
( View ARod Classic galleries: 2002 | 2005 (pt. 1) | 2005 (pt. 2))

The Children's Aid Society

In 2005, Alex donated $200,000 to the Children's Aid Society, a NYC-based children's advocacy/charity group. His donation supported the placement of therapists into schools located in Washington Heights -- the neighborhood in which Alex was born. These therapists bring stability and much needed mental health care into the NYC public school system. Once again, the Boys and Girls Clubs of America benefited from this donation, as the therapists were placed into clubs located within select NYC public schools. The donation will fund the project for an entire school year.

Dominican Republic UNICEF donation

In 2005, Alex donated $50,000 to the Dominican Republic branch of UNICEF. This donation fully funded five-day care centers outside of Santo Domingo. These centers were able to purchase enough school supplies, food and personal hygiene products for each center for one full year. Approximately 1,500 children will benefit from this donation.