OT: When you give cards to kids

[t206blogcom]

My wife came home the other day and told me about how her boss' 5-yr old was becoming interested in baseball cards. They had gone to a Nationals game and they gave him the cut out cards found in the program; he loved them. So they bought a couple of packs for him and he goes nuts over them. So her boss was asking her what they need to buy him to store the cards - binder and pages? Boxes? She was asking my wife because they knew I was a collector.

So my wife asked me that evening if I had any cards I could part with to give to her boss' kid since she knew I'm purging a lot of my cards. In the past, I had sold some of them and donated some to a local charity. But unfortunately, I couldn't find buyers for most of the 80s/90s/2000s commons, so I had been throwing them away boxes at a time. As a result, I agreed to set some cards aside for the 5-yr old and in the future keep him in mind when I have cards I no longer want.

Apparently the cards were a big hit. So much so that his slightly older brother wanted some of his cards to play with. Her boss was very appreciative of course.

When I came home today, my wife handed me a personal note from her boss thanking me for my generosity. Along with the note was the below picture and thank you from both of her sons. While I had thought nothing of giving away a small stack of 90s commons, I now realize how much of an impact these cards can be on others, especially kids (we don't have kids). It was exactly what I needed after a hard day at work; a real pick-me-up if you will.

After reading the letter, I immediately put together two small bags of more baseball cards, one for each of the kids. Just felt like sharing.

[kcohen]

Nice Jason! I'd say that you definitely put those cards to their highest and best use.

[KCRfan1]

Originally Posted by kcohen

Nice Jason! I'd say that you definitely put those cards to their highest and best use.

I'll second that.

[z28jd]

Did you say you've thrown away cards boxes at a time? If so, bless you. If I could only get more people to do that, I wouldn't feel bad about dedicating 91% of my closet to cards from the 80's-90's

[t206blogcom]

Originally Posted by z28jd

Did you say you've thrown away cards boxes at a time?

Yup! I got rid of a ton of stuff I collected as a kid in the 80s/90s. I also went on a wax box buying spree last summer so I could relive some childhood memories. I threw away several boxes of Topps, Bowman, Fleer, Donruss, Upper Deck, Score, etc.

[DerekMichael]

that is awesome jason

[z28jd]

Originally Posted by t206blogcom

Yup! I got rid of a ton of stuff I collected as a kid in the 80s/90s. I also went on a wax box buying spree last summer so I could relive some childhood memories. I threw away several boxes of Topps, Bowman, Fleer, Donruss, Upper Deck, Score, etc.

If only there were more people like you!...I guess the donating cards to kids part is good too

[deadballfreaK]

What was that hideous red speckled set? 1990 Fleer? Donruss? Those should be burned. Could be harmful to young kids.

[Beatles Guy]

I recommend this guy if any of you want to make room in the collection.

http://commons4kids.org/

[cdn_collector]

Originally Posted by deadballfreaK

What was that hideous red speckled set? 1990 Fleer? Donruss? Those should be burned. Could be harmful to young kids.

Sounds like 1990 Donruss to me...1991 Donruss was very similar, but in blue and green (series 1 and 2, I think). 1991 is a love-hate for me. It's one of the first sets I tried to collect, but looking back it sure it hideous


Regards,

Richard.

[bwbc917]

My wife teaches 4th grade. For the last 2 years we have done a baseball unit. I give a presentation on the history of baseball and some of the famous people. Before hand each student has filled out a card with their favorite player and team. They get a card either of the player or of the team. We are near Cincy so Joey Votto gets the most requests. This year I was overwhelmed with Babe Ruth and Jackie R requests. A few days later I get a stack of thank yous similar to the one posted above. My favorite this year said I hit a home run!!!

[mattsey9]

I'm managing my son's Coach-Pitch team this summer (5 and 6 year olds). When I found out I was doing it back in April, I sent a bunch of letters to former players asking them to fill out a brief questionnaire to give the kids some advice on how to play the game. A bunch of them sent autographed cards, etc. to give to the kids. So far this season, every boy on the team has gotten a Bobby Doerr autographed HOF plaque and an autographed card from Carl Erskine. They thought it was great, and I got to tell them a little bit how their careers!

[MBMiller25]

Great stuff guys, I love reading about stuff like this.

[Iwantmorecards77]

That's awesome! Most kids sure do love cards - and it's great to give something back. Plus - we're creating little collectors at the same time.

I do the same - but with hockey cards (I have a job in hockey.) I've put together a school incentive program where kids can win unopened packs of cards for good grades. I also throw in packs of cards for holiday goodie bags and also tournament goodie bags at the end of the season. I also use unopened boxes and autographed cards in raffles and packs at the end of certain skating sessions. It's great to see the kids hanging around the rink with their buddies trading cards with each other.