August Happiness Challenge – Day 8

My 2026 Happiness Icon

Today's Happiness: Anthony Rizzo Appreciation Post. Today is my favorite-most Cub's 37th birthday. He has not been a major league player since 2024, but that hasn't diminished his impact. It's difficult to get hard-and-fast numbers on these things, but it's estimated that his foundation donated $2,000,000 in 2025 across three hospitals: Joe DiMaggio's Children's Hospital in Hollywood, FL; Montefiore Children's Hospital in the Bronx; Lurie Children's Hospital here in Chicago. 

 

Then there are the grants. These are the ones that touch my heart the deepest. Families with a child fighting cancer face expenses insurance won't cover. Hospitals charge for parking, cafeterias charge for meals. A child with leukemia can require months of chemo, while his parents only get two weeks of vacation with pay. How will they make the mortgage? What about daycare for the other kids in the family? Where can they turn? Anthony Rizzo. He has a toy drive each year at Christmas for families so that the siblings get gifts under the tree, too, because, as he's fond of reminding us, families fight pediatric cancer. Now we can argue that things are pretty fucked up if desperate parents have to count on the largesse of a retired first baseman, but the lucky thing is that ballplayer is the indefatigable Anthony Rizzo.

 

He's been on my mind between his birthday and his annual auction, which ran last week during the Cubs-Yankees series. Fans bid on everything from a Taylor Swift autographed guitar for $1,950 to a backstage pass to Watch What Happens Live for $3,000 (who knew Andy Cohen was such a big baseball fan?) to an on-field meet-and-greet with current Cub phenom Pete Crow-Armstrong for $35,500. I'm happy that even though he's retired, celebrities still came through with donations.

 

And I'm happy he's in the world. He gives tirelessly and with a joyful heart and that makes him my hero. 

  

Happy August Happiness Challenge!

 

Each day in August you are to post about something that makes *you* happy. Pretty simple. And, it doesn't even have to be every day if you don't want it to be. It's a great way to remind ourselves that there are positive things going on in our lives, our communities, and the world.