Central Catholic Baseball Team Donates Food to Mercy St. Vincent Workers
The Fighting Irish baseball team should have been in Melbourne, Florida for spring break, playing several games against top-level teams. But as with so many other events during this COVID-19 pandemic, their trip was canceled. And at that point, no one was sure whether or not they would even have a baseball season.
Head coach Jeff Mielcarek had stressed to his players that they should use this time of uncertainty as one of opportunity and self-improvement. In the spirit of this directive, they came up with a plan. If the team had gone to Florida, they would have held a “Feed Our Boys” campaign in which parents of players would have been asked to donate bottled water and sports drinks, individually-wrapped breakfast bars, energy bars, and other snacks to take on the trip.
In order to celebrate their health, players and families came up with the idea of collecting these items anyway, and then donating them to the staff caring for COVID-19 patients at Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center. This includes doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, lab technicians, X-ray and CT staff, housekeeping, security, maintenance, therapists, chaplains, etc. Mercy Health has been a significant supporter of Central Catholic in many ways, and St. Vincent is the closest neighbor to our school.
Coach Mielcarek held two drop-offs at Mercy Field and collected several pick-ups full of items. The initial plan was to have players actively involved in the food collection and delivery to the healthcare workers. However, in order to follow social distancing and stay-at-home mandates, players were only able to drop off items to the parking lot, but not congregate or deliver the items. Coaches and a few senior parents delivered the donations later, and the staff was extremely grateful.
At the beginning of baseball practices this year, Coach Mielcarek asked his senior players to write letters to freshmen players to welcome them to the program, tell them what to expect, and give them advice and encouragement before the season. These letters became much more poignant and valued due to the fact that these seniors may not have the chance to play for Central Catholic again. Coach Mielcarek shared these letters via email with players and families, and they helped to keep the team together during this difficult time.
