Derek Hunley

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November 10-11, 2009

Benefitting The Torii Hunter Project - The Heart of a Champion Foundation
Tuesday, November 10Wild Horse Pass HotelChandler, ArizonaCelebrities, sponsors, golfers and guests will be treated to two days of fun in the sun. Tuesday night (prior to the tournament) golfers, invited guests, and celebrities will join in an evening extravaganza featuring a gourmet dinner followed by celebrity introductions and live entertainment by singer-song writer Brian McKnight. Wednesday morning golfers, sponsors, and some of the greatest names in sports and entertainment will grab a quick bite before the tournament and then step out to play 18 holes of golf on pristine greens surrounded by sweeping desert scenery.



The Torii Hunter Project

Torii Hunter’s goal is to leave a lasting impact on people by helping individuals to improve their everyday lives. In keeping with the goal, The Torii Hunter Project is an organized effort to help those in need and to assist charitable organizations, with quality philanthropic programs, in various parts of the nation. Torii’s own challenging upbringing has inspired him to help those in need whenever and wherever possible. Torii has also inspired his peers to join him in this initiative, in an effort to impact all 30 Major League Baseball communities. Justin Upton, of the Arizona Diamondbacks, is the first to join the project and will participate in the program’s roll-out to the Phoenix, AZ community.


The objective of the Torii Hunter Project is to assist people in four specific areas: Youth Sports, Education, Community Initiatives and Wellness.

Sports
The sports phase of the Torii Hunter Project was birthed out of Torii’s philanthropic involvement with various youth sports programs around the United States. Specifically, Torii felt a need to address the lack of African American youth participating in the game of baseball. He connected with Little League Baseball International and asked to assist with Little League Baseball’s Urban Initiative Program. Torii’s first project with LLB was to bring inner city youth to the Little League World Series to play in exhibition games prior to the actual Little League World Series. The goal was to create awareness with the national media, while at the same time, providing an exciting, once-in-a-lifetime experience for the kids. Torii recruited a number of his peers in Major League Baseball to help in the cause and through those efforts was able to sponsor 14 teams and provide them with lodging, transportation and an unforgettable experience. The project’s sports program continues today, with the next phase focused on providing opportunities for other inner city youth to participate in tournaments around the country. In addition, the project will provide equipment such as bats, gloves, baseballs, batting gloves, and other items to programs in need. The project will continue this reach regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, or nationality.