When Atlanta Braves baseball player Tim Hudson had Tommy John surgery in 2008, he and his wife, Kim, became heavily involved in charity work. During this time, the Hudsons saw a lot of needs from children and their families that they felt weren’t being met in areas in Georgia and Alabama. So, in 2009, the Hudsons formed the Hudson Family Foundation.

“We would go and do events or visit for whatever it was and we would come home and literally talk about all these individual families and what they were going through,” Kim Hudson said. “A lot of it involved financial stress because their child was sick, or you know, whatever the situation was it was a bad one. So, it got to the point at the beginning of 2009 when we just couldn’t pretend that we didn’t understand what was going on.”

Hudson said that she and Tim wanted to keep doing the charity work they were doing, but wanted to form a foundation on their own so that they could be strategic on where the money goes.

“We would talk about the fact that some people don’t even have the money to get back and fourth to the hospital to visit their kids, some people don’t have money to pay for the medicine they need when they’re not in the hospital, some people are so behind on their payments of their house or their utilities that they’re going to get their power cut off or they’re going to lose their home,” Hudson said. “It literally was born because we saw a need and we wanted to form something where we could have 100 percent control over where the money goes.”

The Hudson Family Foundation’s motto is that it is “committed to making a positive and long lasting impact in the lives of children who have a genuine need for assistance with regard to a specific physical, emotional or financial circumstance.”

The Hudson Family Foundation has four programs to help families in need. These needs can come in many different forms.

“Why we formed it was because we wanted to help families and children in need, whatever that situation looked like,” Hudson said. “I mean, it’s not always just about having a sick child. It’s about … we help families that have lost a mom or a dad, there’s been car accidents, that can kind of look a lot of different ways.”

One program is what Hudson calls the heart and soul of the foundation: The Grant Program. This program provides financial support through individual grants for children and their families dealing with a life-altering disease or event. The assistance can include pharmacy costs, gift cards for food or travel-related expenses, temporary housing or mortgage assistance, medical equipment, funeral costs and more.

Hudson said she knows this won’t fix all of the families’ problems, but hopes that it can help relieve the burden.

“If we can pay their bills for two months, or we can get them some gas cards or Publix cards, just do something to take a little bit of burden off of them while they’re dealing with this situation, then that’s what we want to do,” Hudson said. “It also kind of gives them a little breathing room. They’re not feeling bogged down by all these bills piling up and having to choose from either paying their mortgage payment or buying medicine. That’s a reality that people shouldn’t have to go through.”

Another program the foundation offers is the Scholarship Program. Through this program, scholarships are awarded to deserving high school seniors who fit within the mission and purpose of the Hudson Family Foundation. Applicants are required to complete a scholarship application and to meet specific criteria such as: grade point average, financial need, community/volunteer involvement, SAT scores, and/or ACT scores. The Foundation will award one time scholarships of $3,000 to students throughout Georgia and Alabama.

Hudson said the scholarship requirement isn’t about being the smartest or the most athletic kid.

“It’s about being a kid who has either gone through a trial themselves, or had a parent or someone in their house, a brother or sister, go through something and because of that there’s a financial need, but the kid just survives or perseveres.”

Hudson said that they give applications to principals and counselors so that they can refer the applicant.

“They handpick the kids, because to me there’s nobody better to know those kids then people who are with them every day who know their stories,” Hudson said.

The other two programs the foundation offers are more fun.

The Rookie Reader program promotes literacy and encourages a love of reading from a young age. Books are provided by the Hudson Family Foundation to children and youth throughout Georgia and Alabama.

Hudson said the idea for this program came after visiting after school centers and more places in Atlanta that didn’t have books. They decided to create a program where anyone interested could be involved with the program by collecting or donating books.

“Not everyone can give money and, believe me, we totally get that,” Hudson said. “We have this program where we can make a flier and collect books on your street or at school or at church, or wherever it is ... figure out where books are needed.”

The last program is the Take Me Out to the Ballgame program. This program provides tickets for children to attend Atlanta Braves home games throughout the baseball season. Non-profit organizations that fit within the mission and purpose of the Foundation get first priority. The program also offers gifts certificates to those holding different benefits so that they may auction the tickets off to raise money for their organization.

“We buy a bunch of Braves tickets and we either send kids to games who wouldn’t otherwise get to go and/or we give certificates for tickets,” Hudson said.

One part of the foundation that Hudson says she doesn’t enjoy is fundraising, but she and Tim decided that when they did hold fundraisers they would make sure that they were fun.

“When we formed the foundation we knew that we needed to do fundraisers that were fun,” Hudson said. “Fundraising is awful, I hate it, it’s the worst part of doing this whole foundation business, but it’s necessary.”

The Hudsons have two different fundraising initiatives throughout the year. The first is Club One Five. This initiative keeps donations coming in throughout the Atlanta Braves’ baseball season. Individuals and businesses are invited to become members of Club One Five by pledging to contribute a specific amount of money for every win Tim records, every batter he strikes out, every start he makes and/or the number of innings he pitches during the season.

“That’s a fun way to raise a little money,” Hudson said. “It kind of helps you to follow Tim and follow baseball and at the same time it’s a fundraiser really to raise money without any money going out.”

But the biggest fundraiser of the year is the Hudson Foundation’s annual concert. Every year the Hudsons hold a country music concert to raise money for the foundation and to also thank the foundation’s sponsors.

“We both love country music and we decided to do a country music concert,” Hudson said. “Kinda how we formed our fundraising packages was kinda like, ‘OK, if you’re willing to give us money, we’re going to put on a great weekend for you as a thank you.’ So, it’s almost like a celebration thank you weekend.”

The first year the concert was held in Peachtree City and last year near Atlanta, but this year the Hudsons will hold the concert in Auburn.

The Hudsons moved to Auburn about a year and a half ago. When their oldest child reached school age they decided that they needed to find a permanent home and decided to live in Auburn.

“Tim and I both went to Auburn and his family is in Auburn,” Hudson said. “I felt there was no better place to raise a family and it’s just a great environment.”

Hudson said that they are excited to hold the concert in Auburn for the first time.

“We just wanted to put together something that was going to be fun for the community and something that people look forward to every year,” she said.

The 2011 Hudson Family Foundation Homecoming Benefit Concerts will take place on Thursday, Nov. 17, and Friday, Nov. 18, at the Auburn Arena. Country artists Justin Moore, Brantley Gilbert and Drake White will perform Thursday night and country artists Luke Bryan, Lee Brice, Josh Thompson and CMT's “Next Big Star” winner Matt Mason will perform Friday night. Tickets range from $20 to $40. Tickets are available at ticketmaster.com, Kinnucan’s and J&M Bookstores.

Those interested in buying a sponsorship packet will also be treated to a dinner and after party. The largest sponsorship packet also offers sponsors 80 tickets to give away.

“We wanted our sponsors to feel really involved and feel ownership of the foundation and the event,” Hudson said. “So, they can go out and give them to clients, coworkers, employees, other non profits, schools, whatever they want to do, and help other people fundraise.”

Hudson said the concerts are not just about raising money for the foundation. They have also given out a lot of tickets to different organizations.

“What I’m excited about is seeing a list of the places that have received donations on the front end,” she said. “Not actually what we’ll be able to do with the money we raise afterwards, but all the places that have received tickets or have been given tickets to sell for their organizations. There’s this huge list of those people and organizations that I can’t wait to see, you know, what that affect is going to be too.”

Hudson said she knows that she and her husband could just write checks and not be involved with fundraising for a foundation, but that wouldn’t be nearly as meaningful to her.

“To me what makes a huge difference is getting the community involved and letting people see what it feels like to help somebody else and use their talent and resources, whatever they feel that they can give,” she said. “And the more people involved, the more help you can give.”

Another part of the foundation that she said she feels couldn’t be replaced are the memories.

“We’ve also been able to, because of what Tim does and because of people in our community who offer to help with things like this, we’ve also been able to treat kids to experiences like bringing them to a Braves game and bringing them down to spend time with Tim, and just treating their whole family,” Hudson said. “Sometimes you can’t fix these problems and these children don’t make it, but we can help their family make memories with their children before it’s too late.”

Hudson said she and Tim hope one day their own kids can run the foundation, but that’s as much as she would like to plan for the future of the foundation.

“We service kids in Georgia and Alabama right now because that’s where I see the need and we obviously haven’t fulfilled all the needs here,” she said. “I don’t have any desire to get any bigger geographically right now. I just want to help people close.”

Hudson said that she can’t imagine her life without this foundation.

“I can’t imagine not being involved in helping other people, whether it be through our foundation or through work that we have done prior to forming the foundation,” she said. “Tim and my philosophy is very simple. We’re a Christian family. We understand that God blessed us for whatever reason and that this does not all belong to us. It’s about using what we’ve been given to help other people.”
For more on the Hudson Family Foundation, visit hudsonfamilyfoundation.com.