The Kansas City Royals did it again in the fall of 2015, winning their Division and finding themselves with a chance for redemption at the World Series. Word of Honor Fund (WoHF) was again able to send our kids to the championship game, with renewed hope for victory.
In 2014, WoHF sent two children and their mentors to the World Series in Kansas City. Everyone had a fantastic experience except for one little thing—the Royals lost that night. Last fall, for the second year in a row, WoHF sent these same kids and their mentors to the World Series, this time with the addition of their youngest brother and his mentor.
On August 6, 2011, these three young boys lost their father when his Chinook helicopter was shot down by enemy fire in Afghanistan. Prior to joining the military, this U.S. Navy SEAL and devoted father was an avid baseball player. He and his best friends were loyal fans of their hometown Royals team through good seasons and bad, but none of them had ever experienced a championship season.
Since the time of his death, those loyal best friends have become mentors to his children. The opportunity to return to the championships—this time along with the youngest boy—was too good to pass up. This game turned into a night to remember for everyone as it stretched to extra innings. While no one had expected to be up so late, it was all worth it in the end. The Kansas City Royals won the World Series and our WoHF children and their mentors were there to witness an epic moment in baseball!
I have to tell you, Lewis would not sit down throughout 14 innings of baseball. He wouldn’t stop pumping his fist and holding his sign high in the air. He was doing everything he could to get on the big screen. The only time he left his seat was to finally use the bathroom after holding it for three innings. We told the boys we would take them down to buy some souvenirs. Lorin and Conner were ready to go, but Lewis…no way. He looked at us like we were crazy to be leaving our seats. “This is the World Series!!” he said. When everyone was losing a little faith in innings 11, 12 and 13, it was Lewis, the eight-year-old, who wouldn’t quit yelling “Let’s Go Royals” and single-handedly got our section back in it. It’s was so awesome to see his strength and passion throughout the game. Lorin and Conner were troopers as well. At 4 and 6, they hung in there as long as they could. At one point in the game Conner had hot chocolate and Lorin had a frozen lemonade. When Lorin’s hands got cold, they switched. It was so cute to see them go back and forth until both treats were gone. Great kids, good times and wonderful memories. Thanks again for everything.
It was an unbelievable night! Thank you so much. Word of Honor Fund is a godsend!
Absolutely unreal. The boys were troopers enjoying extra innings and a Royals win! Thank you, thank you, thank you for such awesome memories with these little angels.
Words from both mentors
