In
1994, Major League Baseball canceled the World Series. I was disturbed by how
this could happen over money and worried about the impression that it would
leave on the youth.
So, I set out to do
something positive for children, so that the younger generation would love the
game of baseball for what it is, and not for the money it could give you.
I decided to write my first children's book
with my childhood idol – Hall of Fame Broadcaster, Vin Scully. All the proceeds
from the sale of It's the Most Wonderful
Time of the Year benefitted many youth charities. From this experience, I
realized the potential of charitable work and founded my own children's charity
called the Good Tidings Foundation.
Good
Tidings Foundation's mission is to encourage and support the growth of
marginalized youth in Northern California and beyond by creating environments
for athletics, arts, and education. For
the last 25 years, we have built 204 athletic courts, art studios, music
studios, teen centers, dance studios, and more.
We have awarded $1.6 million in education
scholarships to high school seniors and donated over 56,000 toys to low-income
children during the holidays.
This
past November, I published my third book, Before
Jackie. Meticulously researched and based on true stories, Before Jackie is about a group of nine
kids in post-World War II California that are brought together by baseball.
Free of adult prejudices and united by their love of the game, the kids
overcome all obstacles—poverty, racism, physical disability—to become a vision
of America's joyous, diverse future.
Before
Jackie
is an uplifting story with a twist, where the friends, who call themselves The
Nine, find themselves on a quest to dig up a communal grave in order to right a
wrong.
Through their adventures, friends are loyal above all else—to each
other, to the team of Negro League players who befriends them, to their
teacher, Ms. O'Doul, and to the great American pastime of baseball that makes
all things possible.
During
these current unprecedented times, like The Nine, many of us might be facing
many new obstacles right now.
Whether it
be obstacles facing the unknown, with loss, poverty, or racism, I encourage you
to stay positive and find something that brings you joy.
Larry Harper
grew up in Southern California, listening to Vin Scully and with a dream of
working in baseball. He spent five years as a college coach and thirteen years
as a Major League Baseball Scout, including the Director of Scouting for the
San Francisco Giants. In 1995, Larry founded the Good Tidings Foundation to
support marginalized children in the areas of arts, education, athletics, and
wonder. Larry is the recipient of the Humanitarian Award by the Positive
Coaching Alliance.
Harper is
the author of three books (one with Vin Scully), and proceeds from all his
books benefit the Good Tidings Foundation. He is married to his wife of
twenty-eight years, Ronette, and they have two adult children, Zack and
Bridgette.