Nelson Cruz nominated for 2020 Roberto Clemente Award

Nearly 1,200 families have received direct support from Nelson during this crisis. In July, Nelson helped lead the $400,000 donation from MLB, the MLBPA and Players Trust to the D.R. to provide medical equipment and address food insecurity in the wake of the pandemic.

After a childhood friend lost his home to a fire, Nelson set out to transform the safety and welfare of his hometown. Las Matas de Santa Cruz now has a fire engine, 80 firefighter uniforms and an ambulance to treat and transport people to the hospital nearly an hour away. Each year, Nelson has brought dentists and optometrists to his hometown’s local clinic to provide checkups, medicine and eyewear.

To help break the cycle of poverty in his hometown, Nelson’s Boomstick23 Foundation began construction on an education and technical center technical skills training and teach farmland skills to produce crops.

Nelson is particularly focused on kids in the D.R. who leave school to play baseball. He equips the centers with computers to help them complete their high school education online.