Attorney W. Jerome Stanley serves as president and CEO of SAFE Sports Management, a private law practice in Los Angeles that provides legal services to the sports industry. Also involved in promoting economic development in South Los Angeles, Jerome Stanley has served on the advisory committee for Dodgers RBI, a youth development initiative of the Los Angeles Dodgers Foundation.
The Dodgers RBI (Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities) program, deployed in 2014, serves 10,000 boys and girls in 68 underserved communities in Los Angeles County including Compton, South Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Inglewood. While engaged in baseball practices and games, each child learns about teamwork and sportsmanship. In addition, the program serves as an engagement tool to promote literacy, health, wellness, and higher education.
In the past, barriers to baseball in these communities included poor-quality fields, undertrained coaches, high enrollment fees, and inadequate equipment. In response, the Dodgers RBI program provides coaches with an opportunity to attend coaching clinics and provides all the necessary equipment for the league’s games. In addition, grants are used to help pay umpires and maintain baseball fields.
Since its inception, Dodgers RBI has grown year over year from 2,700 participants to nearly 10,000. Leaders and coaches hope that the program continues to grow and expand its influence in Los Angeles communities.
