Jeter Helps Kids “TURN 2” Something New

By C.G. Morelli
Love of Sports Correspondent

The man has 2,356 hits, 1,379 runs scored, 933 RBI, three Gold Gloves, eight All-Star appearances, four World Series rings and an untarnished image.

Of course, I can only be talking about Yankees captain Derek Jeter.

Fans who respect him as one of the greatest shortstops of all time can’t help but wonder how he’s been able to accomplish all of this in just over a decade. D.J. haters around the country just wonder how much longer he can maintain such greatness.

But the fact of the matter is, at heart, Derek Jeter is simply a good person who deserves everything that’s come his way. Take away the mad skills at short and the pile of endorsements, and you’re still left with a human being you’d be proud to have your child look up to as a role model.

What most people don’t know about No. 2 is that behind the scenes, after grueling hours of offseason conditioning, endless rounds of batting practice and a neverending stream of infield fungoes, he’s hard at work using his assets to help those less fortunate than himself.

So, in 1996, while sitting in a hotel room with his father, Jeter hatched a plan that would give rise to the Turn 2 Foundation. With the help of his entire family and some inspiration from his childhood idol, Dave Winfield (who founded a similar organization in the ‘80s), Derek prided his foundation on programs that would motivate young people to say “no” to drugs and elect healthier lifestyles.

“The thing that drives me to give back to the community is a desire to make a small, positive difference in the lives of young people,” Jeter said. “The idea that young people view me as a role model encourages me to attempt to make an impact on their lives. I have been fortunate to be placed in a position where I can help others. As the old saying goes, ‘if you have a little you give a little back, and if you have a lot, you give a lot back.’”

Through diverse programs, ranging from free baseball clinics to leadership conferences known as “Jeter’s Leaders,” the Turn 2 Foundation’s been helping underprivileged children grow safely and successfully into the confident, well-adapted leaders of tomorrow.

“With all of our programs, we aim to do more than just tell youth to say no,” said Turn 2 Director Todd Smith. “We want to provide outlets for positive behavior and leadership.”

Turn 2 manages to provide these programs completely free of charge to all participants and their families. Much of this is accomplished as a complete effort from the entire Jeter family. His father, Dr. Charles Jeter, is Vice President, his mother Dorothy, Executive Director, and his sister Sharlee oversees all of the foundation’s events and fundraising. In conjunction with Todd Smith, they handle the daily operations on days when Derek’s busy carving his path towards Cooperstown. But there’s no doubt Jeter himself is the driving force behind the whole thing.

“Derek is extremely involved,” said Smith. “He visits the programs and the children in the programs, he hosts luncheons and private meetings with the Jeter’s Leaders program and through personal donations, marketing deals and annual fundraisers, he’s the primary source of fundraising for the foundation.”

In fact, since 1996, the Turn 2 Foundation’s awarded more than $8 million in grants to support its diverse programs. To supplement the foundation’s success, Jeter periodically enlists the help of other celebrities in raising funds.

Most recently, Turn 2 hosted its first-ever Celebrity Golf Classic in Tampa. With stars like Morgan Freeman, Ken Griffey, Michael Jordan and Antonio Tarver, among a cast of others, the foundation raised over $750,000, which it’ll use in its entirety to fund the Derek Jeter Center at Phoenix House, a place where youth can receive free drug and alcohol treatment and get their lives back on track.

“The greatest part of it all for me is getting out on the field, or in the classroom, with the youth in our programs and actually see the life lessons and development in action,” Smith said. “Seeing not only the smiles on their faces and in their voices, but the hard work and dedication that they are putting into making good decisions. I’ve had a chance to watch some of the youth in the program grow up right before my eyes. That is truly a special thing.”

As someone who’s had the good fortune to help out at some of Turn 2’s free baseball clinics in New York City, I can only echo the words of Todd Smith. They are words that clearly resonate with Derek as well.

“To hear a kid say I made a difference in their life, or a parent of a child say that I made a difference in their child’s life, and I am a positive role model, is tremendously gratifying,” said Jeter.

I now realize my own involvement with the Turn 2 Foundation was not only personally rewarding, but it gave me a higher respect for a person who’s much more than just a great ballplayer. He’s a great human being. For that reason, Derek Jeter’s a perfect example of why we love charity.