Red Sox legend David Ortiz once outlined his charity's noble vision of funding heart surgery for children
In a 2016 interview with ESPN, David Ortiz made it known that the legacy he wanted to leave behind was of him saving lives.
Ortiz retired in 2016 after 14 years with the Boston Red Sox. He still considers the establishment of the David Ortiz Children's Fund to be his biggest achievement. This cause saved the lives of many children who had heart problems.
When asked how he wanted to be remembered, Ortiz replied:
“I want to be remembered not as someone who just looked after himself, but as someone who tried to do his bit to make a difference,” Ortiz told ESPNDeportes.com
Ortiz added:
“There's no hit, achievement, title or award that can compare with the enormous satisfaction of giving a child their smile back.”
The organization has funded many children from the Dominican Republic and New England to have access to better or specific medical care. This includes difficult medical practices such as heart surgery.
David Ortiz - 09/01/2000 https://t.co/PmZBDGxnRv
It especially helps those children who come from families who are unable to provide them with the care that is needed.
Institutes such as the Massachusetts General Hospital for Children in Boston and the World Pediatric Project organization have also partnered with the David Ortiz Children's Fund.
When David Ortiz talked about what motivated him after a bad game
In the same interview, Ortiz spoke about the impact of running the organization had on him.
The Red Sox Legend had said the following to the interviewer to express his views on giving back to the community:
“There are times I have bad games, there are times when I'm in a slump, there are years when we lose more games than we win."
Ortiz added:
"But during that time there are times when they call me and tell me that they operated on 15 children and that everything went well,” said the Red Sox legend.
He continued with:
“They say ´look, here are photos, videos, the family thanks you.' And [when that happens] it makes me forget how badly things are going on the field, because things happen on another level and, for me, that's important,” he said.
David Ortiz’s three-run homer during Game 1 of the 2004 World Series.
It was Ortiz’s 5th homer of that postseason. https://t.co/xKQqwQWJwL
Even Leo Ortiz, David Ortiz's father, recalled how he was always a giving person when he was young.
The habit of giving back has stayed with the Red Sox Legend. And because of that habit of David Ortiz, the world is a much kinder place.