By John Frierson
Staff Writer

Kirby Smart is well known for his passion for recruiting, for looking far and wide to bring the best players he can into the Georgia football program. It turns out that he and his wife Mary Beth have a similar approach to their foundation.

“We started in Athens, and it kind of led out to Atlanta, Valdosta, Savannah, Macon. I mean, we have applications online, and we had the highest number of applications we’ve ever had; I think over 500 or 600 applications,” Smart said at the Kirby Smart Family Foundation’s annual Giving Day gathering in the Payne Indoor Athletic Facility on Wednesday,

On hand at the event were more than 200 people from 75 different organizations that will benefit from the foundation this year. In total, 117 organizations will receive a combined $345,365 in 2025. Since the foundation was created in 2018, it has given nearly $2.5 million, Mary Beth said.

“I’m going to just say the total, because I think it’s pretty awesome,” Mary Beth told the audience before announcing the $345,365.

“Let’s be clear,” Smart said, “the people in this room that sacrifice daily for others, they work in these charitable organizations across our state. It’s huge for our state. Mary Beth and I were both very, very fortunate to go to the University of Georgia, which is our state university. And we want to give back to this state, so the organizations (the foundation helps) come throughout the state.”

Six Red Zone recipients who will receive major grants from the foundation this year were also announced: Adventure Bags, a Winder-based organization that provides essentials and comfort to displaced children; Kate’s Club, an Atlanta-based group that helps children and families dealing with the death of a loved one; Peace Place, which serves Barrow, Banks and Jackson counties to assist survivors of domestic violence; the Clarke County School System Special Olympics; the Athens YMCA; and Camp Sunshine.

Camp Sunshine helps children in Georgia with cancer, and their families, through a variety of year-round programs and hosts about 400 children a year at their summer camp in Rutledge, Ga. The Smart family knows Camp Sunshine well because Smart’s brother, Karl, who had leukemia, was a camper there and later a counselor.

Along with Kirby and Mary Beth Smart, four Georgia football players — Jordan Hall, Chris Cole, Justin Williams and Lawson Luckie — spoke during a panel discussion on giving back. Smart said the four of them do regular community service activities and give back in other ways.

“If you set the standard and the example, they’ll follow,” Smart said.

Toward the end of her remarks, Mary Beth said their son Andrew told her to not “cry again this year” during Giving Day. She didn’t cry, but others in the audience, especially the six Red Zone recipients, might have had a good reason to.

A decade ago, Smart was hired to take the Georgia football program to new heights, which he clearly has. But through the foundation, the Smart family is helping people in need across the state every day. They might not hand out championship rings for that, but every gift to a group that can really use it is another big win.

“This is our day to say thank you,” Smart said.

For more information on the Kirby Smart Family Foundation, whether you want to apply to be a recipient or make a donation, head over to https://www.kirbysmartfoundation.org/.

 

Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men’s Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files.