The Oakland A’s baseball club knew they had to step up when a 9-year-old fan, whose house was destroyed by the recent horrific Northern California wildfires that have destroyed over 8,400 structures, reached out about losing all his treasured memorabilia.
Loren Smith, a self-described A’s superfan, sent a letter to the ball club about losing his collection of jerseys, baseball cards, and baseballs in the recent fires.
Dave Kaval, Oakland Athletics President, saw the letter published on ABC7 News and immediately organized a memorabilia drive to rebuild Smith’s lost collection.
If you’d like to donate baseball memorabilia to our pal Loren, please send items to the address below and we’ll make sure they get to him. pic.twitter.com/xI3ZwWWfNA
— A’s, But Spooky 🌳🐘🎃 (@Athletics) October 16, 2017
“When we heard that Loren lost all of his A’s memorabilia from throughout the years, we knew we had to do something,” Kaval said. “We are overwhelmed by the generosity we received from players, others teams in the league, and baseball fans from the entire country who so quickly rallied to bring some joy to this wonderful young fan.”
The A’s have even surprised Smith with the opportunity to throw a ceremonial first pitch at game next year as well as season tickets.
9-year-old Oakland A’s superfan, who lost all his baseball memorabilia in California wildfires, is gifted all new gear and season tickets. pic.twitter.com/ByJ78GHSkS
— ABC News (@ABC) October 21, 2017
Donations from all over flowed in for Loren’s collection. The A’s players chipped in even more on top of their donation as well as other teams, including the Giants, Marlins, Rays, Red Sox, Cubs, Indians, and Tigers!
We’re in too. #BayAreaUnite pic.twitter.com/JraajNFGkR
— San Francisco Giants (@SFGiants) October 16, 2017
Let Loren know we’ve got a package full of gear on its way. #TrueToTheBlue pic.twitter.com/Pcog5hWXid
— Mariners (@Mariners) October 16, 2017
📬 Just dropped all of this in the mail for you, Loren! 👍 pic.twitter.com/fKmcZf6voC
— Red Sox (@RedSox) October 16, 2017
We’ve got a Padres pack on its way for Loren—including an autographed Mark McGwire baseball 🤗 pic.twitter.com/IWXQ8VDUUb
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) October 16, 2017
Hey Loren, we got a package with your name on it on the way! #RaysUp pic.twitter.com/krjS5mdiRY
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) October 16, 2017
Positive stories like this are what makes us tick! We’re always looking for partners that feel the same way about good news!
Stay linked to Good Celebrity for all the breaking celebrity news headlines and stories about people doing good! And don’t miss our exclusive interviews, all right here on our YouTube page.