{"id":19937,"date":"2025-10-06T15:58:31","date_gmt":"2025-10-06T20:58:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/?p=19937"},"modified":"2025-10-06T15:58:31","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T20:58:31","slug":"southeastern-illinois-community-foundation-creates-sports-fund-in-harringtons-memory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/19937-southeastern-illinois-community-foundation-creates-sports-fund-in-harringtons-memory\/","title":{"rendered":"Southeastern Illinois Community Foundation Creates Sports Fund in Harrington&#8217;s Memory"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"pdfprnt-buttons pdfprnt-buttons-post pdfprnt-top-right\"><a href=\"javascript: window.print()\" class=\"pdfprnt-button pdfprnt-button-print\" target=\"_self\" ><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-content\/plugins\/pdf-print\/images\/print.png\" alt=\"image_print\" title=\"Print Content\" \/><span class=\"pdfprnt-button-title pdfprnt-button-print-title\">Print<\/span><\/a><\/div><p>The Southeastern Illinois Community Foundation has announced the creation of the Ben Harrington Youth Sports Fund, established in memory of Benjamin \u201cBen\u201d Cole Harrington of Mattoon. The fund honors Ben\u2019s legacy as both a standout athlete and an extraordinary individual whose love for sports was matched only by his kindness and devotion to others.<\/p>\n<p>A 2011 graduate of Mattoon High School, Ben excelled in football and track, earning All-Conference honors and Honorable Mention All-State in football his senior year. In recognition of his achievements, he was inducted into the Mattoon High School Hall of Fame in 2021. Ben went on to play football at McKendree University before transferring to the University of British Columbia, where he was part of the 2015 Vanier Cup championship team.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond athletics, Ben was known for his bright smile, generous spirit, and unwavering loyalty to family and friends. At the time of his passing in 2020, he was preparing to marry his fianc\u00e9e, Adriana, and adopt her young daughter, Katalina. His life reflected his belief in the importance of hard work, teamwork, and community. The Ben Harrington Youth Sports Fund will continue that legacy by supporting youth sports programs and helping future generations of athletes experience the same lessons in character, camaraderie, and perseverance that Ben valued so deeply.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are honored to help carry forward Ben\u2019s legacy,\u201d said Alex Pleasant, President\/CEO of the Southeastern Illinois Community Foundation. \u201cThis fund will not only celebrate his life but also create opportunities for young athletes to thrive, just as Ben did.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For more information about the Ben Harrington Youth Sports Fund, please visit southeasternillinois.org or contact the Southeastern Illinois Community Foundation at alex@southeasternillinois.org.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Southeastern Illinois Community Foundation has announced the creation of the Ben Harrington Youth Sports Fund, established in memory of Benjamin \u201cBen\u201d Cole Harrington of Mattoon. The fund honors Ben\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2916,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19937","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Southeastern Illinois Community Foundation Creates Sports Fund in Harrington&#039;s Memory - Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/19937-southeastern-illinois-community-foundation-creates-sports-fund-in-harringtons-memory\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Southeastern Illinois Community Foundation Creates Sports Fund in Harrington&#039;s Memory - 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