During this pandemic, I am glad that baseball is back and Yankee fans can watch their fabled and beloved Bronx Bombers every night. It does bother me when watching the games that the seats are empty. As the Yankees Community Consultant in a normal season, I would of had kids on the field before games and poor kids that never would’ve had a chance to ever go to a game would of had their dreams come true. It’s very painful to me. I guess because I was once one of those poor kids. It strikes home.
Right now, I’m visiting the different boroughs and trying to help people at this difficult time. I have been to the hospitals, fire and police stations dealing with food drop offs, also schools where we give out food. We go to shelters where mothers in all difficult situations and children are sent.
There is one particular shelter near Yankee Stadium where there are so many kids. My friend and Phycologist Steve Vaccaro and I go there on Thursdays. The kids there have become big time Yankee fans. One of my responsibilities is to read my different children’s books that I have written. Since the books are so Yankeecentric, the kids have become familiar with our players. The two most popular players are Gio Urshela and Gleyber Torres. I know that a big reason for that is because of the cool and unusual first names.
Last week, Gio had a great week so the kids were very excited when I got there. When I walked into the conference room where we had the kids that day , they started chanting GIO, GIO. GIO. It was very cool. Every couple of days I try to give a couple of players that I have a good rapport with some info on the kids and how they are doing. Gio and Gleyber have taken a very beautiful interest in the kids since they have gotten here. They have even sent the kids videos with encouraging words.
This past Saturday, Gio hit his fourth home run and then sent the kids a video to let them know that the homer was for them. It was just a beautiful gesture because it made kids that really don’t have anything feel really good about themselves. We even had a little boy who was going have surgery and again because of the pandemic Gio couldn’t visit but he did the next best thing… face time baby.
The little boy was so happy, I think Gio was happier.
If anyone thinks that the Yankees have forgotten about the Bronx and more importantly the children of the Bronx or the city, than nothing could be further from the truth. Do yourself a favor and check out my Instagram or Facebook or Twitter post ( Raynegronyanks ) to see for yourself.
Thanks Gio and all New York Yankees for not forgetting our people especially our children at this difficult time.