NewsRangers Foundation gives kids wings
Organization teams with Southwest on trip to Houston
Texas Rangers
07/30/09 12:07 PM ET
The 2009 Rangers have designs on going where no Rangers team has gone before. On Wednesday the Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation and Southwest Airlines helped a group from the Big Brothers Big Sisters organization do the same."About half the kids have never seen the ocean. More than a third of them have not been on an airplane," said Jennifer Woods of Big Brothers Big Sisters. "It was just a day of firsts for most of these kids. They come from communities and families that aren't able to have these kinds of opportunities."
Eleven children and their big brothers and sisters met team mascot Rangers Captain at Dallas' Love Field before flying to Houston's Hobby Airport on Wednesday morning. Upon arrival, they were treated to a day of meals and activities sponsored by Southwest and the Rangers Foundation.
They started by learning about men who truly did go where no man had gone before at NASA's Johnson Space Center. The tour included the enormous Saturn V rocket, a short film about the space program, the opportunity to touch a moon rock, an exhibit on George Lucas films and plenty of play on the center's attractions.
Next came lunch at Babin's Seafood House. Those who'd never seen the ocean (and the rest of the party) then got a near immersion during a soggy cruise through the adjacent portion of the Gulf of Mexico. Time spent riding roller coasters and other rides on the Kemah Boardwalk led to dinner at the Aquarium Underwater Dining Adventure, where many of the children no doubt saw their first piranhas (live in a tank, not on the menu). Then came a return to the airport and the flight back to Dallas.
"We had a great time," said Abilene's Buzz Jones, one of the "Bigs" in attendance. "I told [little brother] Daniel [Salitre], 'I've had so much fun, I'm probably going to have to have three days off to get over all this fun.' "
Woods described the process through they selected the trip participants, some of whom came from as far away as San Angelo.
"We asked the 'Bigs' and 'Littles' to submit essays," she said, "basically to talk about what it would mean to go with Southwest Airlines on a trip and how that would affect your match relationships, as well as potentially how excited you would get if you were able to go to a Rangers game."
Salitre, who experienced his first flight, had a special reason for wanting to win the trip.
"I wrote an essay about how that I didn't want to win this [for myself]," Salitre said. "I wanted to win this for Buzz. Buzz has shown me so much. He teaches me things every time he picks me up."
Jones gets plenty from their relationship, too.
"I've been matched with Daniel for five years," Jones said. "I can truthfully say it has been a win-win situation. I don't know who's gotten the most out of the deal, me or Daniel."
Though not all of the Rangers Foundation programs revolve around players -- or even baseball -- they all aim to benefit children. And this group will have one more outing together, one that will center on baseball. The Bigs and Littles will attend the Rangers' game with the Twins on Aug. 19, no doubt hoping to cheer Texas into first-place territory and another win-win situation.
This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
