Scott Rolen’s Philanthropic Summer Camp
By
Amanda
Posted at 9:32 pm
There was a lovely Scott-Rolen-is-a-Saint story in the Toronto Sun yesterday. It’s about the camp he’s built for kids who are sick or who have sick family members who need a week of outdoorsy fun.
It is not specific to children attacked by one cruel disease.
“It’s for the kid walking home from school, head down, kicking stones,” Rolen said. “He may be healthy, but maybe mom is sick, or his father. It’s for kids who have spent too much time in the hospital.”
The Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis makes the recommendations.
Four cabins have been built, along with a man-made lake. There are paddle boats, a petting zoo, a lodge with a fireplace, two horses, a Little League diamond, a soccer field and a tree house. And they’re not finished.
“My brother, Todd, and I came up with the idea of building a camp for children and their families for a week,” Rolen said. “To have fun, have a blast. Let’s play. ”
That’s what they do.
It’s the kind of do-good-goodness that will have you furtively wiping away a tear before anyone walks by your cube and sees you crying like a little girl.
This little bit, right at the end struck me:
“This game we play, it isn’t real,” Rolen said. “The game has given me great value in my personal life. It’s like I always tell Joey Votto. There’s no karma in baseball: Bad guys can do well in this game. You can be happy in this game and not be happy in life.
“Would you rather be 4-for-4 with, two home runs and knock in six and be divorced? Or would you rather go home to your family?”
I just wonder: why single out Votto for this message? I imagine work-life balance would be particularly challenging when your work *is* a game. What do you do for relaxation? Lay bricks?
i would like to see scott hang on with the reds when he retires
Why bricks? Aren’t there any “baseball Annies” in Cinci? 🙂
If not, all the more reason the Indians should hurry up and trade Grady Sizemore. He’s going to cost them more than $20 million before they are competitive again as it is.
They should trade him to the Nationals and give Grady’s Ladies a chance to head southwest, from Cleveland to another Ohio city.
One where the baseball team doesn’t play in a city that’s known as “The Mistake By The Lake.”
One where the baseball team doesn’t need for eight airplanes to crash in order to have an outside shot at a wild card berth in the postseason this year.
One where the baseball team has guys – like Rolen and Votto for example – who might actually go 4-for-4 with two dingers and six ribbies.
Yep, you’re feelin’ it – Grady’s Ladies should come to Cincinnati and change their name to…ah, well, never mind, let’s just say Joey Votto is still single as far as I know, and he plays for a much better team.
JK