In Great Britain, Andy Hooper notes that New Jersey Nets G Vince Carter, who is “on a whistle-stop tour to promote the NBA Live pre-season matches taking place across Europe next month” and the NBA’s new junior program, recently spoke to “30 assembled young basketball hopefuls” in Great Britain.

Carter: “First comes the student, then the athlete. The money you can make in the NBA is nothing compared to the riches that you can achieve through education.”

Hooper adds that Carter “has already set a different example through a charitable foundation whose work is far removed from basketball.” Carter said, “It’s more about the grassroots and bettering yourself as an individual. We create opportunities for families and young kids to excel. It doesn’t have to be about particular sports, it’s more about education (that word again), including parental skills. We’re not telling them how to raise their kids, we’re just giving them the tools. It’s never too late to learn” (London Telegraph, 9/5).

Utah Jazz G Ronnie Brewer, who attended the University of Arkansas, gave $50,000 to the African American studies program in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. The gift will support scholarships for students enrolled in the program who are also interested in the journalism field.

Brewer: “This program is really up and coming, and it will attract more minorities to the University of Arkansas. Our state is diverse, and we need to reflect that on our campus” (University of Arkansas).

MLB.com’s Michael Anderson reported that the Kevin C. Barnhill Championship Field in Ohio, the recipient of a $55,000 grant from MLB’s Baseball Tomorrow Fund, “will be one of the region’s premier youth baseball facilities, … but the most memorable feature will be the memorial plaza.”

Anderson: “Kevin Barnhill’s life was cut short in August 2006 when the 27-year-old became the victim of a homicide in Mason, Ohio. At the time, he worked in ticket operations for the Reds.”

Barnhill’s father, Bill, said, “It is my belief that this project is clearly aligned with the goals of the Baseball Tomorrow Fund. And those goals are to enhance and promote baseball throughout the world, [and] funding field improvements and equipment purchases to encourage youth participation in baseball and softball.”

Anderson added that the facility will be “complete with natural turf infields and outfields, enclosed dugouts and bullpen, an electronic outfield scoreboard and even a concourse area with stadium-style bleachers and a press box” (MLB.com, 9/2).

Washington Wizards F Antawn Jamison blogs about his experience working with KaBOOM! to build playgrounds.

Jamison attended his first KaBOOM! build in conjunction with the 2008 NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans. Soon after, Jamison committed to supporting the KaBOOM! Playmaker Network by building a playground near his hometown of Shreveport in Bossier City, La., in September 2008 as well as to help KaBOOM! with promotional efforts for its WE Play! training in Charlotte this past May. He also committed to participate in a KaBOOM! playground build with KOOL-AID in southeastern D.C. (KaBOOM!).

Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Jeff Garcia has partnered with Gainesville Coins to start a “Collector for a Cause” program.

Proceeds from the sales of selected coins will benefit the Garcia Pass It On Foundation and America’s Second Harvest of Tampa Bay along with its network of more than 200 affiliate food banks nationwide.

The Garcia Pass It On Foundation was established as a means to share resources with people in less fortunate circumstances. Through the foundation, Jeff and wife Carmella seek to give back in a tangible way to causes that are close to their hearts.

America’s Second Harvest of Tampa Bay and an its affiliate food banks operate as a massive behind-the-scenes resource to support programs that feed the hungry.

The “Collect for a Cause” program will raise money to benefit these charities through the Super Bowl in Tampa, Fla., on Feb. 1, 2009 (Numismatic News, 9/4).

After being a club nominee for the 2008 Roberto Clemente Award, Boston Red Sox 1B Kevin Youkilis is profiled by MLB.com’s Ian Browne.

Browne writes, “Youkilis became interested in community endeavors almost from the moment he was first promoted to the Red Sox in 2004. Five years later, he has established himself as a force both in the lineup and where it matters most — for kids in need of help. For quite a while, Youkilis had visions of starting his own charity. And thanks to his fiancee, Enza Sambataro, volunteering to run it, the Kevin Youkilis Hits for Kids charity was established in September 2007. In the first year, the charity raised roughly $600,000.”

Youkilis: “We’ve done a lot of great things with our charity this year and we’re excited just to be doing a lot more great things out there in the community. I think that’s one of the big reasons, just with the charity doing so well this year and having great success. That award is great because you’re doing stuff for the community and doing stuff off the field. On the field, you give a lot of people joy, but off the field, you can do a lot more for people that are in need of help.”

Browne adds that “in addition to what Youkilis does for his own charity, he continues to be one of the team leaders in making appearances on behalf of the Red Sox, including visits to the cancer-fighting Jimmy Fund” (MLB.com, 9/3).

After announcing the Michael Phelps Foundation on NBC’s “Today” show yesterday, U.S. Olympic Gold Medalist Michael Phelps released more details of his namesake foundation, which will be established with the $1 million bonus he will receive from Speedo for winning eight gold medals in the 2008 Beijing Games.

The Foundation’s first initiative will be an eight-city tour across the United States, in collaboration with long-time partner Speedo, to visit children and for Phelps to share his experiences in Beijing. The Tour will also serve as the launch of an education program, “Dream, Plan, Reach,” based on a simple yet powerful set of principles that Michael learned as a child and has applied to his everyday life. The Program will provide children with an understandable game plan for life that can extend beyond the swimming pool, to empower children to live healthy, active lives. “Dream, Plan, Reach” focuses on informed planning and goal-setting, and the importance of personal responsibility and discipline in adhering to that plan in day-to-day living.

Phelps: “My goals reach beyond the pool, to helping others realize their dreams, and continuing to grow the sport I love so much. I feel it’s only appropriate that I continue the momentum that Speedo helped to create, by committing my bonus to the establishment of the Michael Phelps Foundation, which I hope will help me inspire others to achieve their dreams, and give back to the sport that has given me so much” (Michael Phelps Foundation).

MLB yesterday announced the club nominees for its most prestigious off-field honor, the 2008 Roberto Clemente Award, which is presented to the player who combines outstanding skills on the baseball field with devoted work in the community.

MLB.com’s Tom Singer noted that the nominees “have immersed themselves in the type of humanitarian and community efforts that distinguished the life of Clemente,” adding that the players “prefer to contribute anonymously so their celebrity does not detract from their sincere motivation to help kids, the underprivileged, the ravaged or the ailing.”

2008 Roberto Clemente Awards Finalists:

• Arizona Diamondbacks: Brandon Webb
• Atlanta Braves: Tim Hudson
• Baltimore Orioles: Melvin Mora
• Boston Red Sox: Kevin Youkilis
• Chicago Cubs: Ryan Dempster
• Chicago White Sox: Jermaine Dye
• Cincinnati Reds: Brandon Phillips
• Cleveland Indians: Grady Sizemore
• Colorado Rockies: Jeff Francis
• Detroit Tigers: Magglio Ordonez
• Florida Marlins: Luis Gonzalez
• Houston Astros: Lance Berkman
• Kansas City Royals: Mark Teahen
• Los Angeles Angels: Justin Speier
• Los Angeles Dodgers: James Loney
• Milwaukee Brewers: Jeff Suppan
• Minnesota Twins: Michael Cuddyer
• New York Mets: David Wright
• New York Yankees: Johnny Damon
• Oakland Athletics: Mark Ellis
• Philadelphia Phillies: Jimmy Rollins
• Pittsburgh Pirates: Jack Wilson
• St. Louis Cardinals: Albert Pujols
• San Diego Padres: Trevor Hoffman
• San Francisco Giants: Kevin Frandsen
• Seattle Mariners: Raul Ibanez
• Tampa Bay Rays: Carlos Pena
• Texas Rangers: Kevin Millwood
• Toronto Blue Jays: Vernon Wells
• Washington Nationals: Joel Hanrahan

Quotes: Singer offered quotes from several of the nominees:

Mora: “The only thing I would like to be recognized for is that I want all the players to see [what I do] so they can know that there’s something out there they can do for the kids.”

Wright: “It’s an incredible honor. Anything that comes along with a man that gave his life doing something for others is just incredible.”

Millwood: “I never really thought much about that. I’m not out trying to win any awards. I just like the feeling of giving back and helping people who can’t help themselves.”

Please visit MLB.com to read more quotes and find more information on the Roberto Clemente Award (MLB.com, 9/2).

Canadian Olympic freestyle aerial skier Ryan Blais spoke about his Come Fly With Me Foundation at the recent The Friends of the Foundation’s 10th Anniversary Dinner.

In announcing the program in late 2006, Blais said, “The first aim of the CFWM foundation is to encourage and support amateur athletes that are striving to represent our community and country at the national and international stage. The second aim of the foundation is to create a ‘connection’ between Grande Prairians and the athletes that are representing them in various sports at various levels of competition. It is one of the foundations core beliefs that athletes should take pride in their community, and in turn, the community should take pride in its athletes.”

The foundation’s goal is to raise $200,000 by the 2010 Olympic Games through a variety of fundraising initiatives and awareness campaigns.

The TODAYShow.com’s Bob Considine reports that U.S. Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps “will use the $1 million bonus he earned from Speedo for tying Mark Spitz’s record of seven gold medals to start his own foundation.”

Appearing on NBC’s “TODAY” this morning, Phelps “announced that the Michael Phelps Foundation will distribute his prize money to various charitable programs to promote water safety and encourage youth swimming.”

Phelps said that his foundation’s “first initiative will be an eight-city tour across the United States, in collaboration with Speedo, to launch an educational program called ‘Dream, Plan, Reach.’”

The program “will provide children with an easy-to-understand game plan for life beyond the pool, empowering them to live healthy and active lives while focusing on goal-setting, personal responsibility and discipline in day-to-day living (MSNBC.com, 9/2).