VUE

I believe that purpose is to give back—give back with the community. Not just giving, but using my time and my hands and my feet to go work at it too. So it wasn't necessarily just financial. When we started [the Mariano Rivera Foundation] I believed that the Lord gave me the opportunity to do it, and to touch many other people. I didn't have anything and I had an opportunity [with baseball], the Lord opened the doors and the rest was history. Why would I want to [have success] and not help others? There's so much need out there. So my philosophy, my wife's and my family's philosophy, is to take advantage of that blessing and share with others in need and grow it. Whatever events we did to grow, it helped us and it has been amazing. We don't make a penny but the gratification we have and the good times and the smiles that we get when we give something, it has no price. That is more gratifying than anything else. For us, it's a blessing that we can do for others. What are some projects that the organization has planned for the future? I'm trying to build a learning center, that for me, is something special. I believe if we have a place that we can take youngsters away from the streets that will be something that can help many families. We can take those kids and instead of being on the street, they can learn and be a part of the community. To me that's a lot. How does the good you're doing today stack up with your accomplishments in baseball? One leads to another. The Lord created the platform with baseball for the Foundation to work. So I think using the platform that the Lord has given me in baseball, opened doors to make sure we created the Foundation and used that platform to help others. It works hand-in-hand, you know. One wouldn't live without the other. Baseball was the root, and the foundation of the Foundation. I think that both were for the best of [each other]. VUE ON GIVING V U E N J . C O M 82

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