Celebrity Visitation Program

The Satchel Paige Foundation and the 16th Judicial Circuit of Missouri, Family Court Division partnered to establish the Celebrity Visitation Program to recruit celebrity or notable persons with a positive public image and a "genuine" interest in youth development to visit the youth detained in the Jackson County Juvenile Detention Center to inspire and motivate youth to realize their value and become positive contributors to the community.  Celebrities often serve as role models.  Their visits can inspire and motive incarcerated youth to pursue their dreams and make positive changes in their lives.

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Leroy had a troubled childhood.  He began skipping school, stealing and fighting.  After stealing trinkets from a store, he was arrested.  At the age of twelve Satchel Page was sentenced was sentenced to six years at the Alabama Reform School for Negro Law Breakers in Mount Meigs, Alabama. There he received a second chance.  He received the necessary discipline, education and attention he desperately needed as a youth.  He sang in the choir, learned to play several instruments and honed his pitching skill, culminating in his induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, in 1971.

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