About the Charity
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.
Education
Torii recently began a partnership with the Heart of a Champion Foundation, a 501(3) (c) nonprofit organization based in Dallas, Texas. Heart of a Champion is a national leader in character development educational programs and curriculum. Heart of a Champion’s programs are targeted to junior high and middle school students, and are producing significant measurable results in attitudinal and behavioral change, 
decreased drug and alcohol use, decrease violent and abusive behavior and increased grade averages. The three-year curriculum is deployed on a monthly basis throughout the entire school year, and is based around 9 key core character traits: Commitment, Leadership, Perseverance, Teamwork, Respect, Integrity, Responsibility, Self Control and Compassion. Heart of a Champion currently works with schools, after school programs and juvenile justice outlets in 23 states, and partners with the Kansas City Chiefs, Houston Texans, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Coca Cola North America, and Express Employment Professionals. Each has seen the benefits of the program and has supported the Heart of a Champion cause. While Torii’s own story is included within the Heart of a Champion program, his partnership extends well beyond that. Torii has sponsored schools in Pine Bluff, AR, Orange County, CA, and Minneapolis/ St. Paul, MN. Torii’s goal, and the objective of the Torii Hunter Project, is to initiate similar partnerships with other Major League players in all 30 MLB franchise cities, who will provide their own story as well as sponsoring students in their communities. The first of these will be deployed in Phoenix, AZ with Justin Upton of the Arizona Diamondbacks spearheading that program.
The second area of focus for Torii Hunter Project education initiative is the Hunter’s Hundred Scholarship Program. This program was established to assist with college scholarships for students in financial need. Hunter’s Hundred assists students who fit the scholarship criteria from three locations: Orange County, CA, Pine Bluff, AR, and Las Vegas, NV. Torii’s desire in this program is to assist youth in need in the immediate area in which he plays baseball (Orange County), the area in which he grew up (Pine Bluff), and at the Andre Agassi Preparatory Academy (Las Vegas), a unique and impressive college preparatory school founded by the tennis champion who is Torii’s friend and colleague. Torii’s plan is to continue to locate programs from around the country that meet the scholarship criteria and ultimately provide scholarships for 100 students, hence the Hunter’s Hundred.
Community
Torii and his wife Katrina have continued to support their hometown of Pine Bluff, AR, as well the various communities in which they have lived. Their latest venture is the “The Torii and Katrina Hunter Pine Bluff Community Fund.” This food distribution drive supplied thousands of pounds of food for numerous families in need in their hometown. Torii has also quietly donated to needy families in the area, and has supported various organizations and community groups throughout his career. Additionally, Torii donated funds to construct Torii Hunter Field in Placentia, Ca. The effort was carried out in conjunction with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, to provide a playing field for Little Leaguers in that community. Torii has also donated funding to help the University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff build a new on-campus baseball stadium, which will undoubtedly increase the overall value of the community.
(Photo: http://www.everykid.org/impact_2012/RBI_Photo_Album/index.htm)
Wellness
As The Torii Hunter Project continues to expand, a formal program will be introduced in an effort to help those in need of medical assistance. In the near future, funds will be raised to assist prudent health and wellness organizations around the country. In advance of that, however, Torii has been active in this field over the past several years, making numerous hospital visits, donations to individuals in need of medical assistance, and assisting with organizations addressing immediate and critical health care needs.
To date, Torii and Katrina Hunter have donated nearly $1 million of their own personal resources to the Torii Hunter Project. Through the project, the Hunters’ mission is to generate a continuous source of funding to assist people in need regardless of race, ethnicity, gender or geographical location in each of the four Torii Hunter Project areas. By teaming up with established charitable organizations, the Project enables individual and corporate supporters to join with Torii’s in these efforts, through tax-deductible financial contributions and gifts-in-kind. The Torii Hunter Project has realized significant impact in just two years of existence and is well on its way to making a sustained difference in the lives of all those that have come in contact with the various programs.
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Telios Prep
Telios Prep is an inner city/urban charter school offering tuition-free college prep education with open enrollment and no admissions testing. The school just opened in July of 2009 with grades 3-8 and will add one grade each year until the school serves 500 plus students in grades 3-12. The current student population is predominantly African American (72%) making this the first “classical Great Books” school in the nation to serve a majority African-American population. It draws students primarily from the downtown/south Phoenix and Laveen communities with the overall student population being 90% minority with almost 50% of the students qualifying for free and reduced lunch.
“This school is founded on the belief that ‘the best education for the few is the best education for all’”, said Reggie Johnson, founding Headmaster of Teleos Preparatory Academy. “For Teleos that means the students of downtown Phoenix will have access to a college prep curriculum equal to that of the best private schools in the Valley.”
Only being opened a couple months, the Torii Hunter Celebrity Golf Classic and the Heart of a Champion Foundation are excited to come alongside this non-profit as it provides a solid educational offering in the downtown Phoenix community.
Please go to www.teleosprep.org.
Sacaton School District
Monies from the Torii Hunter Celebrity Golf Tournament will benefit the Sacaton Middle School. Serving a student population that is 99% minority with 97% Native American, the school is located on the Gila River Indian Reservation. Almost 80% of the students qualify for free and reduced lunch.
Through the support of the tournament, the school will put in a place a character education program that uses engaging stories of individuals from the world of sports, history, the arts and other areas of life.