This week our very own NEGU All-Star, TJ Collett was named as one of the nation’s top 50 high school senior baseball players by Rawlings and Perfect Game – an award that could easily get lost in the extensive list of honors he has received.
Even with all of his incredible accomplishments using the bat, ball and glove, Collett’s proudest achievement has nothing to do with baseball, but with his compassionate heart.
Collett was in California in August of 2014 playing at Area Code Games, and one of the personal growth opportunities of such events is often the obligation of the participants to do community service. Because in professional sports, what you do off the field matters just as much as what you do on the field.
The team Collett was playing for was organized through the Chicago White Sox organization, and was assigned to meet with the Jessie Rees Foundation.
“I got to spend about seven or eight hours with four courageous kids fighting cancer,” he recalls. “I really loved what they stood for, and I tried to benefit from working with them. I wanted to bring that experience back to Indiana to do as much as I could for them.
“At the end of the day, I asked them what I could do at home to help out.”
The answer was to help fundraise to send JoyJars to Courageous Kids fighting cancer. Through various local fundraising activities, Collett has personally raised more than $5,000 for the Jessie Rees Foundation.
“It’s super, super important to me,” said Collett, who has had a catcher’s mitt embroidered with NEGU on the heel to use this spring. “I realize that those kids are in a really tough fight, and I just wanted to do anything I could to help.”
Collett still stays in touch with three families he met on his California trip, thanks to FaceTime.
In 2015, Collett flew back to California to receive the Jessie Rees Foundation’s Compassionate Award at the NEGU Gala.
We are so proud of NEGU All-Star TJ Collett, thank you for helping Courageous Kids Never Ever Give Up!
