A community is stepping up to the plate for a 9-year-old girl who lost her beloved baseball card collection when the Creek Fire destroyed her central California home.
Reese Osterburg was devastated after her cards were destroyed. So Cal Fire put a call out for donations and had a big surprise for her Friday, KTLA sister station KGPE reports.
Reese was told she was going on a fire station tour but instead was surprised with a massive new baseball card collection.
“The baseball card drive donation is not only bringing the kids together, but it’s really bringing the community back together,” Seth Brown a Cal Fire battalion chief said.
After Reese’s family lost their home, along with her card collection, So Cal Fire started the ‘Step up to the Plate’ baseball card drive to gather donations and a stranger hit it out of the park.
“I got to thinking about what I have out here in the garage and I thought ‘You know what? Rather than sell these on ebay I’m just going to donate them. I’m going to donate them all and put a smile on a little girls face,'” Kevin Ashford said.
Ashford sent his entire collection of more than 25,000 baseball cards from his San Jose home to surprise Reese.
“We just appreciate everyone for what they’ve done for us,” Reese’s mother Amy said.
“It’s the best day I ever had, and it’s more than awesome probably,” Reese said.
The girl also received a call from San Francisco Giants player Buster Posey, the Associated Press reports.
Reese said she wants to pay it forward and deliver baseball cards to other children who are either in the hospital or have experienced loss during natural disasters.
Cal Fire plans on collecting cards until next week. They posted information to social media for anyone who wants to donate:
“Please send any baseball card donations to the Shaver Lake CAL FIRE Station at 41640 Dinkey Creek Rd, Shaver Lake, CA 93664. You can also drop off baseball card donations at any CAL FIRE / Fresno County Fire Station. Include a note of encouragement if you would be so kind.”