Paola Boivin
The Arizona Republic
Apr. 15, 2006 12:00 AM

You gave football spikes to Valley youth who couldn't afford them. Congratulations.

You helped the African country of Niger find more productive ways to drill for water. Way to go.

You don't remember? It was in the check you wrote to the Pat Tillman Foundation. It was in the entry fee you paid last year to compete in Pat's Run, a wildly successful 4.2-mile race that's returning to Tempe today. advertisement

Two years ago, a man who was a husband, son, brother, soldier, scholar, rebel and thought-provoker, died while serving his country, and many felt a pressing need to do something. They responded with their checkbooks, acts that moved Tillman's family and close friends immensely but also left them with the daunting task of honoring his legacy accurately.

"We felt - How do you say this? - responsible," said Tillman's brother-in-law, Alex Garwood. "We're charged with the duty of carrying forward Pat's legacy. What a bold legacy."

When the creation of the Pat Tillman Foundation was announced, many of us wondered what would become of it. These groups start out well-meaning but often fall apart because of lack of interest, lack of organization or lack of vision. They are charities of the moment that turn into charities of the past.

Those closest to Tillman knew that finding a way to inspire youth to tackle social issues would be the ideal tribute to the former Arizona State and Cardinals football player, who loved to debate current events.

A month after Tillman's memorial service, the idea was mentioned to ASU President Michael Crow, who embraced it, and the Leadership Through Action program was born. ASU's well-respected W.P. Carey School of Business became part of the plan, and thanks to you, several NFL players, Valley business leaders, local sports teams and others, the foundation raised the necessary $1.25 million to endow the scholarships.

Here's the return on your investment: 14 Tillman scholars. This inaugural group, which includes former ASU football players Chad Christensen and Grayling Love, will be honored at a dinner tonight after completing a two-semester course through the business school in which the scholars discussed social issues, engaged in self-reflection, connected with community business leaders and ultimately came up with a business plan to help better society.

The most worthy of the plans are then funded by the foundation. One of those plans belonged to Christensen and Love, who teamed on a project to funnel used college football equipment to Valley high school athletes in need.

Another scholar comes from Niger, one of the poorest countries in the world. Access to water in the country is a challenge, and women often have to walk miles to a well that frequently contains contaminated water. The Tillman scholar is working on a project to find more productive ways to drill for water.

This is serious stuff.

The students participating in the project must interview for it. That's one of the things that brought executive director Garwood, who lives in San Jose, into town this weekend.

"Listening to these students and to this year's scholars, it gives me confidence in our future," he said. "They're young, earnest and passionate. They're 22. I'm 34, and I've still got to get my act together."

Thursday night he threw out the first pitch at the Diamondbacks game because it was another way to get the foundation's name out there. Today he will witness the magic of Pat's Run, which is expected to raise about $300,000. All the local professional teams have gone out of their way to help the foundation, as have many Valley residents, who researched the organization at pattillmanfoundation.org.

Nice going. Tillman would be impressed.

Reach Boivin at paola.boivin@arizonarepublic.com or (602) 444-8956.