Off the Field : Charlie Batch

Charlie Batch earned one of our favorite moments of 2012 with his tenacious Week 13 win over the Ravens. He is currently a free agent, and while he hasn’t officially been cut or resigned to the Steelers roster, after they drafted QB Landry Jones it became fairly apparent that Batch won’t be returning next season after spending over a decade with the team.

Batch certainly won’t be bored should he find himself out of a job this season in Pittsburgh. His foundation, the Best of the Batch Foundation, will keep him plenty busy, with multiple initiatives that serve Southwestern Pennsylvania.

Aside from loving what they do to empower the community, I really love how they’re phrased their mission statement: “Best of the Batch Foundation provides financially challenged youth and their families with the purpose, desire, and resources to give their best efforts in all they do throughout their lives.” It’s getting to the core issue, giving hope and help to families who would otherwise need to give their best effort to simply making it through each day.

My favorite outreach (and there are a LOT) might be the Best of the Batch club, which rewards students who demonstrate excellence in academics and extra-curriculars with a trip to the Pro Football Hall of Fame with Charlie Batch. How cool is that?!

The foundation also has a really creative holiday campaign. Charlie and other Steelers teammates sign autographs for fans during the Batch-A-Toys drive in exchange for new, unwrapped toys. Over 25,000 have been given away so far!

Here’s a peek into this past year’s giveaway:

Thousands of kids have been impacted by the work of the Best of the Batch Foundation (included a few you might know!). If Charlie isn’t on a field this fall, he’s sure to be found furthering that impact even more.

(Also – two thumbs way up to the Best of the Batch Foundation for having one of the most beautiful, functional athlete charity websites I’ve come across so far. Job well done!)