North Texas teens hope to hit home run in battle against leukemia
NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) - America's pastime has always been more than just a game. Keller High School sophomore Brayden Dunbar says, "You can't go wrong playing baseball."
That statement is especially true when some of the most talented high school athletes in DFW have chosen to 'step up to the plate' on a mission bigger than themselves.
"A lot of people playing baseball know that there are people who are unfortunate and want to help them out," said Hebron High freshman Jordan Seinera.
Those people include 8-year-old Amelia Dammen. Diagnosed with leukemia just over a year ago, she's in remission and doing much better after a recent bone marrow transfer. Amelia's father, Michael, began explaining, "A young man from Germany, who her perfect match was..." before being cut off by Amelia playfully added "Though, I don't speak German." Michael continued, "Right now she's 99% donor cells. They want you to be 98 to 100%. So we're pretty happy with that."
Some special young men will gather on April 24 at Riders Park in Frisco -- home of the Rangers Double A team -- to go to bat for Amelia and so many other sick children. They're hosting the 1st Annual Strike Out Pediatric Leukemia Charity Baseball Game. In this case, the caps with the letters LT are fitting since all proceeds go to the organization Leukemia Texas.
"We've been around for 52 years this year. When 2020 hit, we stopped everything because of COVID," said Leukemia Texas CEO Jessica Dunn. "ur main way of fundraising was through special events and when those stopped we lost hundreds of thousands of dollars but we still have patients. This is a great way to engage everyone and it's a new idea. We're beyond excited."
It's an idea that originated with Jordan Seinera, 15, who said plainly, "it sucks. Kids growing up with something like that is terrible and I wanted to give back to them by doing something like this. It makes me feel good to know that I'm helping them."
Lori Seinera, Jordan's mother, is especially proud. "Just seeing my son really excited about giving back to the community -- especially to children -- just warms my heart," she said.
It has to warm your heart to know that every player taking part in the game is responsible for raising money for the cause. Brayden Dunbar, son of our own Doug Dunbar, has raised more than $2,500 so far. Brayden is encouraging everyone to head to the ballpark. "Coming out, having a good time could help somebody, could save their life. Even if you just bought one ticket...25 bucks goes to the charity and goes to leukemia so I think it's worth it."
Who knows better than a young man who currently stands 6'3", but was still considered a small child in 2018 when the matriarch of the Dunbar family -- his grandma and Doug's mom -- passed away from leukemia.
Thinking back Brayden said, "I just wanna do what I can for someone not to feel what we felt when we lost her....because it hurt for a while."
While the young people helping to being attention to pediatric leukemia know they can't erase pain from the past, they can contribute to a brighter future for kids like Amelia, whose father said, "It's really a village. You got a lot of people looking out for you."
Lori Seinera believes the experience for the players is priceless. "I think it's great for these young men to be doing what they're doing and raising money for Leukemia Texas. I'm thrilled for all these boys. I hope it will stay with them forever."
