MLB Outfielder Matt Szczur To Lead South Jersey Christmas Parade
LOWER CAPE MAY, N.J. (CBS)—Chicago Cubs outfielder and South Jersey native Matt Szczur will be the grand marshal of the Lower Township Rotary Club's annual Christmas Parade this weekend, township officials have announced.
Szczur will be aboard the float with members of the Lower Township Council.
The Cape May County native went to school at Lower Cape May Regional High School and later graduated from Villanova University. He was soon drafted in the fifth round of the Major League Baseball draft by Cubs in 2010.
But Szczur wasn't just a successful ball player--he help save a child's life.
In 2009 Szczur registered to be a bone marrow donor and was a match for a 15-month-old Ukrainian girl who was battling leukemia.
The extensive procedure was a month before the MLB-draft and caused him to miss 10 games at Villanova University.
"You can only do so much in baseball," Szczur said. "To be able to make a difference in someone's life and family – that's huge. I consider it my greatest accomplishment, so far."
The parade will be celebrating its 36 year. It will kick off at 6 p.m. and move south along Bayshroe Road.
Organizers say a few lucky children along the parade route may even get the chance to take home an autographed baseball by Szczur.
