One of Adrian Gonzalez' final acts with the Red Sox: donating school supplies to Boston youth

(Michael Ivins / Boston Red Sox)

From left to right: Red Sox Scholars Dave Pierre, of Dedham, and Edwin Ortiz, of Roxbury, get a fist bump from Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez while filling up their shopping cart at Target.

By Matt Rocheleau, Town Correspondent

In one of his final acts as a member of the Red Sox, newly traded first baseman Adrian Gonzalez donated school supplies to more than 200 Boston Public School students last week.

For the second year in a row, the baseball slugger gave new backpacks and $125 toward supplies to each of the 220 city school students, all of whom belong to the Red Sox Scholars program, according to a statement.

Gonzalez and his wife Betsy joined the students, ranging from seventh graders to high school juniors, to do some back-to-school shopping the Target store at the South Bay Shopping Mall in Dorchester last Monday.

On Saturday, five days after the shopping spree, Gonzalez was traded from the Red Sox to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a nine-player blockbuster deal. Sent along with him were starting pitcher Josh Beckett, outfielder Carl Crawford, infielder Nick Punto and about $11 million in cash. In exchange, the Sox got first baseman James Loney, pitcher Allen Webster, infielder Ivan DeJesus Jr. and two players to be named while shedding more than $250 million in salaries through 2018.

The Red Sox Scholars program is a part of the Red Sox Foundation, the team’s official charity, and is presented by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, the team’s official hospital, the release said.

The foundation has committed to providing each student with a college scholarship valued at up to $10,000, and access to mentoring and other after school enrichment activities, according to the release. Scholars are selected through an open applications process from the Boston Public Schools in fifth through seventh grade based on academic promise and financial need.

E-mail Matt Rocheleau at mjrochele@gmail.com.
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(Michael Ivins / Boston Red Sox)

From left to right: Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez is all smiles as he visits Target in Dorchester to buy school supplies for 220 Red Sox Scholars.

(Michael Ivins / Boston Red Sox)

From left to right: Jamaica Plain resident Jonathan Lopez checks out Target’s school supplies with Betsy Gonzalez, who hosted the event for 220 Red Sox Scholars with husband and Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez.