An Oregon charitable foundation with ties to a former Youngstown resident has granted $175,000 to the Robinson-Shuba Commemorative Statue project, bringing a conclusion to the fundraising campaign to raise $400,000 for the statue.

The Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation, based in Wilsonville, Ore., near Portland, approved the grant after its co-founder, Sally Bany, watched a feature story a national news program on the statue in September. 

"It is so important to build memorials to people and events that bring Americans together," Bany said.

"The 1946 handshake of Jackie Robinson and George Shuba was such an important moment in our nation's history and truly reflects the best of us. We were so excited to learn about the handshake and even more pleased to learn we could play a role in making sure the memorial statue will become a reality. Our hope is that this statue reminds generations of Americans about the importance of reaching across our racial differences to advance equality, fairness and unity," Bany added.

"We are thrilled that a group we never even heard of shares our mindset about this statue and the values it reflects and has stepped up with such a tremendous gift – and has a Youngstown connection," Brown said. 

“We’re grateful for all of the support this statue has received – from the initial $10 online donation from Hubbard to this $175,000 grant from Oregon and everything in between," Brown said.

The Robinson-Shuba Commemorative Statue will celebrate the homerun handshake on April 18, 1946 between Robinson, the first African American allowed to compete in mainstream professional baseball, and George Shuba, his white teammate from Youngstown.

The Marie Lamfrom Charitable Foundation is named for Bany's grandmother, Marie Lamfrom, who was born and raised in Germany, served as a nurse in World War I and fled to the United States in the 1930s after the Nazis came to power. Lamfrom was involved in Girl Scouts in Oregon for more than 44 years as a troop leader, board member and delegate to the national convention.

Bany’s father, Neal Boyle, lived in Youngstown as a child before attending the University of Arizona where he met his future wife, Gert Lamfrom, Marie's daughter.

“This foundation’s link to Youngstown is the latest in a series of spontaneous Youngstown connections that have advanced the success of this project,” said Eric Planey, a statue committee member and former Youngstown resident who has coordinated much of the effort from his home in New Hamburg, New York.

Another key Youngstown tie-in was the original spark for the statue - Planey’s conversation in Virginia with his niece’s softball coach, also a former Youngstowner. When the coach learned of Planey’s roots, he related the story of the Robinson-Shuba handshake.

Another fortuitous connection was a former Youngstown-area resident who works for Major League Baseball and connected Eric Planey, a statue committee member and former Youngstown resident with Jackie Robinson’s family. That opened the door for permission from the Robinsons to use Jackie’s name and likeness in the statue.

The plan is to have statue dedicated in Wean Park on April 18, 2021, the 75th anniversary of the historic handshake. The statue will stand nearly 7 feet tall above its base and will be surrounded by seating to support programming about racial equality. BSHM Architects, a Youngstown-based firm, has donated the design work for the memorial. 

Marc Mellon, a Connecticut sculptor known for his bronze works honoring Pope John Paul II, Presidents George H.W. Bush and Barack Obama and many prominent athletes, recently completed the statue model. The model will be used to build the mold for casting the statue at the Bedi Makky Art Foundry in Brooklyn, N.Y., which is known worldwide for crafting the Iwo Jima Memorial near Washington, D.C., and the Charging Bull in the New York financial district.