新肯辛顿棒球队为需要帮助的佛罗里达居民击球

玩家帮助清理被飓风破坏的房屋
新肯辛顿棒球队与Ft合影留念. Myers, Florida Resident

免费mg不朽情缘试玩新肯辛顿棒球队的成员在2018年春季训练之旅中,花了一部分时间去佛罗里达州帮助一位有需要的居民. 2017年9月,德怀特·波波维奇的家被飓风“厄玛”摧毁后,他一直住在一家酒店里. 队员们住在同一家酒店,并见到了这位老兵,他分享了自己的故事. On March 8, 团队利用休息时间帮助清理波波维奇的家,以便承包商可以开始干墙工作.

Credit: Penn State New Kensington Athletics

NEW KENSINGTON, Pa. – Hurricane Irma, 2017年的灾难性风暴延伸了650多英里, affected at least nine U.S. states, including Florida. Dwight Popovic, a resident of Ft. Myers, Florida, 他的妻子失去了他们的狗,因为风暴被迫离开了他们20年的家.

The family has since been living at a hotel, 波波维奇和免费mg不朽情缘试玩新肯辛顿棒球队的一次偶然会面也将在这里举行, 在最近的春假期间,谁在城里训练和比赛.

“他开始哭了起来,因为他要赶最后期限了, and he knew our paths crossed for a reason,” explained Jim Perry, coach, of his meeting with Popovic at the hotel. “我总是和团队谈论它如何比棒球更重要. I try to teach them more than just baseball.”

Popovic, a Navy veteran who is bound to a wheelchair, 在最后期限到来之前,他需要清理房子里的东西,以便承包商最终可以开始干墙的施工. Unable to do all the moving with his wife, 波波维奇已经准备好让他的信念引导他度过可能的失望,因为他没有在最后期限前完成合同.

“与我的健康问题相比,这根本不算什么, so my wife and I were just like, ‘Oh well, we’ll just have to tackle this,’ said Popovic.

3月8日,新肯辛顿队的成员利用休息时间帮助波波维奇清理他的家. Their trip, spanning March 4-10, also consisted of training, playing three games and three exhibitions.

“我为团队在佛罗里达花时间帮助需要帮助的人感到无比自豪,” said Megan Bratkovich, 新肯辛顿校区的体育主管. “在休息时间,他们可以选择做很多其他的事情, but they chose to give their time to Dwight. 这些谦逊和为他人服务的人生课程将在他们离开免费mg不朽情缘试玩新肯辛顿分校后长期陪伴他们.”

If Perry and the team had not met Popovic, 他在高中打过棒球,还曾是佛罗里达州一个棒球场的管理员, 房子不会因为工作进展而被清理干净.

“没有什么好说的,”感激的波波维奇说. “Thanks isn’t enough. It’s overwhelming. It’s terrific.”

After a winless 2017 season, 这支球队在这次旅行中取得了很大的进步,在第一天对阵里维尔大学的比赛中取得了首场胜利, 但球场外发生的事情让这次旅行变得有意义.

Shane Molyneaux, sophomore centerfielder, said, “It is always important to help others, especially when they are in need. 我很高兴球队有了德怀特这个新朋友.”

“Growing up, my grandfather taught me how to play ball, and while that was fun, 他还教我去帮助那些需要帮助的人, which is way more important,” said Tyler Kline, junior pitcher. “我很高兴能够利用我和祖父一起工作所获得的知识来帮助那些需要帮助的人. 在和德怀特一起工作的时候,我对他有了一些了解. He, too, was a hard working construction worker, and like my grandfather, 他的工具可能比任何人想象的都多. 知道我们帮助了一个有需要的邻居,这次旅行就更有意义了.”