The Jackie Robinson Foundation (JRF) will honor Stephen Ross, chairman and founder of Related Companies and owner of the Miami Dolphins, with the ROBIE Lifetime Achievement Award during the Annual ROBIE Awards Dinner set to take place on March 5th at the New York Marriott Marquis. The highly-anticipated event will include performances by 5-time Grammy Award winners Dionne Warwick and Ray Chew Live. JRF’s founder Rachel Robinson, as well as founding board member Marty Edelman and new board member and benefactor of the Jackie Robinson Museum project, Richelieu Dennis, of SheaMoisture/Sundial Brands, and Essence Magazine, will be among those recognized during the program.
Stephen Ross, who created the Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality (RISE)to improve race relations and drive social progress through sports, has been a longtime champion of equal opportunity, and has served on the JRF board of directors for nearly three decades. As the developer of Hudson Yards, a new neighborhood rising on Manhattan’s west side that will employ over 56,000 people, Ross has been committed to making a difference with an over four decade-long commitment to the creation and preservation of affordable housing. Over 60% of all of the Related portfolio consists of affordable residences and the company has never converted a single unit to market rent.
“Jackie Robinson used sports to create change and spark a discussion around race in our country,” Stephen Ross said. “I have tried to show others that we can follow that example and use the platform sports affords us to promote racial equality. But I recognize that this initiative was made possible by people like Jackie Robinson and I’m honored to be a part of carrying on his legacy.”
“Stephen Ross has contributed greatly to advancing the causes Jackie Robinson fought for throughout his life,” noted JRF president Della Britton Baeza. “What Steve has done with RISE and his decades of devotion to the Jackie Robinson Foundation as a board member, for example, demonstrate profoundly his belief in a more inclusive society.”
Entertainment for the evening will feature a performance by 5-time GRAMMY® Award-winning singer Dionne Warwick. Warwick, whose hits include “Walk On By” and “Do You Know the Way to San Jose”, has sold more than 100 million albums in her storied career.
The ROBIE Awards Dinner is the culmination of the Foundation’s annual Mentoring & Leadership Conference, a keystone of its celebrated college scholarship program.
This year, the Dinner will raise funds to support the Jackie Robinson Foundation’s scholarship program as well as the Jackie Robinson Museum, which will open in 2019.
About the Jackie Robinson Foundation
Founded in 1973 by Rachel Robinson, the Jackie Robinson Foundation (JRF) is a public, not-for-profit organization that perpetuates the legacy of Jackie Robinson by promoting higher education through a comprehensive college scholarship program, and through the Jackie Robinson Museum, opening in New York City in 2019. The Museum will expand JRF’s mission to educate and advance equal opportunity by highlighting an important chapter in the history of the United States and hosting dynamic programming for all ages. The Jackie Robinson Museum National Legacy Campaign has raised over $25 million toward a goal of $42 million.