Sharing Joy Through Service With Blake Wolters By Patrick DeMarre
It’s been just over a year since Blake Wolters heard his name called during the MLB First-Year Player Draft. The Columbia, South Carolina air feels like an enveloping sauna compared to the refreshingly warm summer days of Mahomet, Illinois. Segra Park could accommodate most of the town’s 10,000 or so residents, albeit with standing- room tickets included. It’s a small, tight-knit community less than 20
minutes away from Champaign.
Faith, service and sports. Those are the pillars Blake Wolters grew up on. At an early age, his father, Doug, preached to him the importance of throwing strikes, playing with joy and sharing that joy with others. Blake picked up on the ‘throwing strikes’ part quickly. Exhibiting and spreading joy came naturally as well. Wolters was exposed to Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) camps and other service-related missions in his youth and still takes pride in his efforts within those spaces. “I loved to be involved in anything they did there (at FCA), especially summer camps and teaching kids how to play baseball and read the bible.” Wolters explained. “We helped pick up trash at parks and volunteer at nursing homes… you end up learning a lot more from those experiences than you end up giving.” In 2016, Wolters and his friends established the Mahomet Seymour Bulldog Baseball Club. It was the first travel baseball opportunity for most who joined the team. In order to raise money for travel and team expenses, Wolters and the other members of the team pledged to give one minute of community service to the Mahomet area for every dollar donated to the club. When funds began pouring in, the team began helping out at their local Salvation Army and running food drives. Wolters and his teammates also spent time with the Tom Jones Challenger League, an organization based in Urbana, Illinois that provides special needs youth with opportunities to play baseball. Wolters found an opportunity to get involved in a similar organization while in Surprise, Arizona during Royals Spring Training this year. He was even able to get a few teammates to tag along with him. The Royals’ prospect credits those experiences for helping him put his own life into perspective. “I remember seeing the smiles on their faces.” Wolters reflected. “You end up learning a lot about baseball and life and the kind of joy the game can bring. Sometimes we get so focused on the day to day work and perfection that we forget it's a fun game and it brings joy to our lives.”
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