The Creek Fire in Fresno County, California, has devastated hundreds of acres of land, leaving animal and human residents alike struggling to pick up the pieces.
A 9-year-old named Reese Osterberg was among those who lost her entire home to the fire. While her loved ones and pets were able to evacuate, almost all of their possessions were destroyed.
Reese is an avid baseball player who has spent the past few years building up a collection of baseball cards. She had about 100 of them, but her dad was so rushed when he was gathering their most prized possessions that he forgot to grab them before he evacuated.
In the aftermath of the fire, news of the child’s destroyed collection reached the CAL FIRE/Fresno County Fire department. They decided to team up with CHP-Fresno and the Fresno sheriff to ask their community to donate any old baseball cards they had lying around to brighten the little girl’s day.
When Kevin Ashford of San Jose, California, saw the story, he instantly thought of the box of cards he was planning to sell at some point.
“I got to thinking about what I had in the garage,” Kevin said. “I thought, you know, what if instead of selling them on eBay, I’m going to donate them. I’m gonna donate them all and put a smile on a little girl’s face.”
That’s when he contacted the first responders and told them what he wanted to do. When they found out just how many cards he’s collected since the 1990s, their jaws hit the floor.
“My best guess at this point is probably, and it’s probably underrated, is about 25,000 cards,” Kevin said.
On the day of the donation, dozens of first responders showed up at Kevin’s house to gather the boxes of cards. Then they ceremoniously delivered each and every one of them to a very excited child!
Considering the fact that Kevin’s collection could have brought in thousands of dollars if he’d sold them, we’d say this is the most generous donation anyone could have imagined! Not to mention, the sentimental value can never be replaced, and he did it all to make a stranger smile! Well done, Kevin!
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