Just because Elliot Mast's baseball season is over doesn't mean he is done raising money for youth at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.
Mast, who dedicated his season to raising money for Children's Hospital, nearly doubled his fund-raising efforts Friday night through a fund-raiser at the Blair County Ball Park, home of the minor league Altoona Curve.
Mast, of Altoona, raised more than $800 through a silent auction at Friday's game. Prior to Friday's fund-raiser, Mast had raised $900 for the hospital.
He also used Friday's event to collect craft items for hospitalized kids.
"They need lots of craft items to make their time at the hospital fun and not scary!" Mast said.
Mast knows of what he speaks having been a patient at the hospital himself.
Silent-auction items Mast collected for the Childlife program at the hospital included: preseason Pittsburgh Steeler tickets, Pittsburgh Pirates tickets, a Pirates official MLB hat autographed by Pirates pitcher Paul Maholm, a Pirates official MLB ball autographed by Ryan Doumit, Pirates and Curve player Bobble Heads, and a box of Topps 2010 baseball cards.
Mast had another strong season with his team finishing third in his league and entering the Dean Patterson Little World Series with top teams in the Pittsburgh area, and had a strong showing.
Mast entered the tournament home run derby with 26 of the top hitters in the region and finished second with 10 home runs. The left-handed slugger wound up with 31 homers this year.
But more impressive than his power numbers was his continued effort on behalf of the youth at Children's Hospital. From long before his season started, he brought positive attention to the works at Children's, dedicating his season to kids at the hospital. His efforts got the attention of Major League ballplayers and people throughout the country.
He has been "working hard for the kids," his dad, Don, noted.
While Mast had another top season statistically, his most impressive performance was his season-long dedication to hospitalized kids.
Comments
Great article and great video. It's fantastic to hear of a youth that is already a humanitarian. More parents should encourage their children down this road.
What an encouraging story of a young person contributing to the lives of others.
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!