This might be my favorite C's press release so far:
The Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation in partnership with the newly formed Bill Russell Legacy Committee announced today they will erect a statue of Bill Russell in the city of Boston designed by a local artist. In commemoration of Russell’s accomplishments as the greatest champion in the history of professional sports, as a national leader in human rights and as a dedicated advocate for youth mentoring, the Bill Russell Legacy Project will also develop a Mentoring Grant program in Russell’s name to ensure his passion is carried on by expanding the resources for mentoring programs in the city of Boston.
Kudos to WEEI's Paul Flannery for being one of the leaders of this effort and getting the grassroots effort going. This has been a long road… but recently the idea gained steam and there was even a city resolution to get the job done. Now, it's almost a done deal.
Bill, as usuall, is being humble.
“I am uncomfortable with honors such as this but my years as Captain of the Boston Celtics were the proudest moments of my career,” Boston Celtics Legend Bill Russell said. “Mayor Menino’s Boston has proven to be a City that embraces the diverse contributions of all its people and neighborhoods. I am thankful to the Celtics and all the contributors for the effort to create such a wonderful Mentoring program.”
In order to facilitate and administer the grant process, the Bill Russell Legacy Project is partnering with Mass Mentoring Partnership, the state affiliate of MENTOR of which Mr. Russell is a board member and the umbrella organization for more than 170 mentoring programs in the state.
To donate to the Bill Russell Legacy Fund and for more information on the project and grant applications, please visit www.billrusselllegacy.org.
Congrats Bill.
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