When Mitchell Kennedy enters the Ken Carlson Boys & Girls
Club, he's immediately greeted by a frantic wave of hands urging him to
come over.
And soon he's surrounded by kids filled with the anticipation of getting a sports card with a picture of a favorite athlete or famous sports star.
"It's my favorite time," said Brandon Wilson, 10, as he shows an Armanti Edwards card, autographed by the Carolina Panthers player and former Appalachian State University football star.
"I got Tim Duncan!" another child calls from the other side of the room.
That's the type of reaction Mitchell is getting used to.
"They've all been extremely happy and very excited to get them," he said.
Mitchell, 15, a freshman at West Forsyth High School, has started a nonprofit that for the last several months has been providing sports cards free to children like those at the Boys & Girls Club, as well as to other organizations and children's hospitals.
His organization is called Sports Cards for Kids, and he has a website at sportscardsforkids.org.
Mitchell, a huge Panthers and UNC fan, started collecting sports cards about five years ago, he said.
Last summer, Mitchell got a serious knee injury while playing soccer in his yard. While he was stuck indoors recuperating, he got the idea of sharing his love of sports cards with other kids who may not be able to get them.
"I had a lot of downtime, and I thought, this will be cool," he said.
So he started putting together extras from his collection.
And then he branched out, approaching Mike Stang at Score More Sports Collectibles in Harper Hill Commons shopping center to ask if he could put out a collection box for unwanted cards.
Stang said he was happy to oblige.
"I think it's great," Stang said. "To see a young kid doing this is particularly impressive to me."
The response has been strong. Mitchell picks up the cards once a week, and through Score More and a few other donations, he's able to put together enough cards to make dozens of packs of 20 cards to give to other kids.
He's got a special way of arranging the packs. He starts by putting in five cards depicting superstars — players, like NBA star LeBron James, who are known to almost any sports fan. With those he puts one jersey card — a card that has a piece of game-worn jersey, a net clipping, or some other small piece of memorabilia embedded in the card.
Then he includes one older Hall of Famer, such as Joe Montana or Dan Marino.
And finally he adds 14 cards of current players whom the kids are likely to know about because they are still playing, even if they aren't superstars.
Mitchell has also started reaching out, using social media such as Twitter to ask for autographs from athletes.
"Most of the time, you don't get a response," he said.
But sometimes he does.
Armanti Edwards agreed to help — Mitchell sent him 20 cards, and Edwards signed and returned them. One of them was the card that Brandon Wilson was so excited to receive at the Boys & Girls Club.
Mitchell's next goal is autographed cards from current NBA and former Wake Forest University star Chris Paul.
"Eventually, he's going to sign," Mitchell said. "He's the local hero. I'm sure the kids would go wild for him."
Pappi Conrad, unit director at the Boys & Girls Club, sees value in both the cards and the nonprofit. The cards contain all kinds of information, so they become a way to teach children, she said.
And Mitchell's efforts show that anybody can help others, even if they aren't yet adults, Conrad said.
"They're seeing someone young giving back to the community," she said.
And soon he's surrounded by kids filled with the anticipation of getting a sports card with a picture of a favorite athlete or famous sports star.
"It's my favorite time," said Brandon Wilson, 10, as he shows an Armanti Edwards card, autographed by the Carolina Panthers player and former Appalachian State University football star.
"I got Tim Duncan!" another child calls from the other side of the room.
That's the type of reaction Mitchell is getting used to.
"They've all been extremely happy and very excited to get them," he said.
Mitchell, 15, a freshman at West Forsyth High School, has started a nonprofit that for the last several months has been providing sports cards free to children like those at the Boys & Girls Club, as well as to other organizations and children's hospitals.
His organization is called Sports Cards for Kids, and he has a website at sportscardsforkids.org.
Mitchell, a huge Panthers and UNC fan, started collecting sports cards about five years ago, he said.
Last summer, Mitchell got a serious knee injury while playing soccer in his yard. While he was stuck indoors recuperating, he got the idea of sharing his love of sports cards with other kids who may not be able to get them.
"I had a lot of downtime, and I thought, this will be cool," he said.
So he started putting together extras from his collection.
And then he branched out, approaching Mike Stang at Score More Sports Collectibles in Harper Hill Commons shopping center to ask if he could put out a collection box for unwanted cards.
Stang said he was happy to oblige.
"I think it's great," Stang said. "To see a young kid doing this is particularly impressive to me."
The response has been strong. Mitchell picks up the cards once a week, and through Score More and a few other donations, he's able to put together enough cards to make dozens of packs of 20 cards to give to other kids.
He's got a special way of arranging the packs. He starts by putting in five cards depicting superstars — players, like NBA star LeBron James, who are known to almost any sports fan. With those he puts one jersey card — a card that has a piece of game-worn jersey, a net clipping, or some other small piece of memorabilia embedded in the card.
Then he includes one older Hall of Famer, such as Joe Montana or Dan Marino.
And finally he adds 14 cards of current players whom the kids are likely to know about because they are still playing, even if they aren't superstars.
Mitchell has also started reaching out, using social media such as Twitter to ask for autographs from athletes.
"Most of the time, you don't get a response," he said.
But sometimes he does.
Armanti Edwards agreed to help — Mitchell sent him 20 cards, and Edwards signed and returned them. One of them was the card that Brandon Wilson was so excited to receive at the Boys & Girls Club.
Mitchell's next goal is autographed cards from current NBA and former Wake Forest University star Chris Paul.
"Eventually, he's going to sign," Mitchell said. "He's the local hero. I'm sure the kids would go wild for him."
Pappi Conrad, unit director at the Boys & Girls Club, sees value in both the cards and the nonprofit. The cards contain all kinds of information, so they become a way to teach children, she said.
And Mitchell's efforts show that anybody can help others, even if they aren't yet adults, Conrad said.
"They're seeing someone young giving back to the community," she said.
http://www2.journalnow.com/news/2012/apr/02/wsmet01-teen-spreads-joy-through-sports-cards-ar-2114692/
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