UNOH Athlete Starts Baseball Nonprofit for Underprivileged Youth

Posted on Friday, July 14, 2023

UNOH Baseball Player, Danny King

Originally printed in https://www.richlandsource.com/

MANSFIELD — Danny King, a 2021 graduate of Ontario High School, has started The Danny King ChangeUp Charity, a nonprofit geared towards helping financially-burdened youth athletes the chance to play baseball or softball by providing financial support and/or gently used equipment to families.

The Charity plans to start awarding financial support to youth ball players beginning this fall.

Danny King, an incoming Junior at the University of Northwestern Ohio in Lima, earned a scholarship to play with UNOH Racers Baseball as a catcher. He paved his way to the college level by intense work on and off the field and by attending college combines.

In 2020, he earned a spot on the College Scouting Bureau’s National Team, representing Ohio. He was starting catcher for Ohio Pitbulls Baseball within the Ohio Prospects League in Cleveland for three years in high school, and earned a scholarship from the National Amateur Baseball Federation after participating in the NABF World Series.

“I’ve played baseball my entire life and I’ve worked extremely hard to play at the level I’m at, however, I have been lucky to have the financial support of my family,” King said. “It costs a lot of money to play baseball, especially travel teams, and there are young kids out there that aren’t as lucky as I have been and who face financial burdens. I wouldn’t be playing if it wasn’t for the support I’ve received.”

The ChangeUp Charity will be providing financial support for items such as gloves, bats, gear, and team fees to eligible youth. Families are asked to fill out an application, which must be submitted to their team’s coach for oversight. Eligible families must 1) be 8-18 years of age, 2) be a resident of Ohio, 3) be able to turn their application over to their coach, and, 4) be able to show financial burden prohibiting their son or daughter to play.

“Every young child deserves the chance to play baseball or softball,” King said. “This sport teaches so many life-long lessons and focuses on character development in areas such as leadership, sacrifice, commitment, discipline, failure, and teamwork. Without the chance to play, some kids might never tap into their true potential as a player and might not see how great they can be as a person.”

The Charity will also be collecting gently-used equipment to help families as well.

Scott Russell, King’s father, is a Director on the Charity’s board. “I’ve seen Danny fall and I’ve seen him rise,” Russell said. “He doesn’t give up and he strives to teach younger kids to believe in themselves like he had to learn to do. I believe this is another reason he’s been driven to start this Charity.”

The Charity will be funded by individual and corporate donations as well as events such as hitting, catching, and pitching clinics by King, along with his friends and family.

“Holding special clinics and camps is a perfect way to teach young players and to raise necessary funds for the Charity,” Russell said.

Ohio Pitbulls Baseball has agreed to be one location King will host clinics at, which will be held at their new training facility in Seville, Ohio. The first camp under the Charity realm will be this October.

King is currently completing his requirements for HVAC certification at UNOH. He will be finishing his Junior and Senior year as a Business student.

Although he is in school and training for baseball, he will be traveling to Mansfield and Cleveland to work on the ChangeUp Charity and associated events.

“I’m excited to see what impact this Charity will make,” King said. “It has already been rewarding…and it just started.”

To learn more about the ChangeUp Charity, visit dannykingbaseball.com or follow on Facebook. Applications will be made available later this summer.

Category: Campus & Community, Athletics

Keywords: Baseball, Charity