Joe Maddon helps raise money as celebrity golfer for Pinellas Education Foundation

Former Rays manager giving back to community

It's obvious former Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon loves baseball. However, he is also passionate about education.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - It's obvious former Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon loves baseball. However, he is also passionate about education.

On Thursday, he was out at the St. Petersburg Country Club for the 10th annual Fischer-Carr Golf Tournament in an effort to raise money for the Pinellas Education Foundation. Even though he has not managed in Tampa Bay for over a decade now, he still loves giving back to his community. 

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What they're saying:

"It’s something near and dear to my heart," Maddon said. "I do something like this up in Pennsylvania with the Hazleton Integration Project. When [the foundation] asked me about coming out and playing today, I was all for it."

The event raised over $90,000 in 2024. The foundation is hoping to match that amount this year with Maddon's help. 

He was the celebrity golfer and was auctioned off to play a round of golf for $1,000 with a foursome of golfers. He spoke at the awards show on Thursday night. 

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The backstory:

The Take Stock in Children mentoring program provides students grades 7-12 a chance to get a college education. The foundation has helped 4,500 students in the area get that opportunity and raised over $1.5 million since its inception. 

"The number of kids who have benefited from this program is staggering," Maddon said. "For those of you who aren’t aware of it, you probably should because it’s fantastic. Anytime you help the youth of our community anywhere, it serves us all better down the road. When they asked me, I was all in."

Maddon is all in for a higher education and believes it's important to stick to traditional methods of learning that are provided by the Pinellas Education Foundation. 

Community Impact:

"500 kids who wouldn’t have had a chance for higher education got that chance through this program here," Maddon said. "If that’s not enough to sell you on what they are doing here, I don’t know what it would take. Education, reading, whatever. Just get away from mechanical information. Go out there and seek it. Read a book from cover to cover. Have a conversation. Do things like that in order to educate yourself. Just don’t rely on modern methods that don’t require nearly as much effort."

All proceeds from the golf tournament will benefit the foundation's Take Stock in Children mentoring program.