White Sox catcher Tyler Flowers and wife Nancy launch 'Flow's Buds' at Mercy Home for Boys & Girls
Flowers Family Donates $1,000 for Every White Sox Win to Mercy Home and Inaugurates New Program Focused on Supporting Education of Home Residents
Chicago White Sox catcher Tyler Flowers and his wife Nancy launched "Flow's Buds" - a community program with Mercy Home for Boys & Girls. The Flowers created the program with the Mercy Home to build a long-term partnership focused on helping the residents excel in school.
"My wife and I have been blessed to play in Chicago for so many seasons, and we wanted the opportunity to give back to the Chicago community. Mercy Home and its mission of faith, love and hope resonated with us," said Tyler. "I wanted to be here for the kids to simply spend time with them and provide guidance when I can, but also share how important education is in their lives."
The Flowers pledged $1,000 for each 2015 White Sox win to support the education costs of students at Mercy Home. The Flowers presented an initial check for $20,000 to Mercy Home at the event.
"Education is an important part of starting out on the right foot. Tyler and I want to make sure the residents at Mercy Home have the opportunity to make a difference through education in their own lives as well as in the community," said Nancy. "Our partnership with Mercy Home supports the spirit of being part of a team. We'll cheer on the teamwork both on the field with the White Sox and off the field with the Mercy Home team of kids and staff."
In addition, the family donated baseballs, bats and gloves to Mercy Home and Tyler personally invited the young residents to a White Sox game this season. During their visit, Tyler and Nancy answered questions from about 40 residents from Mercy Home.
"Mercy Home is blessed by its historic friendship with the Chicago White Sox organization - a friendship whose roots stretch back for more than a century," said Mercy Home President Rev. L. Scott Donahue. "We are so grateful to Tyler and Nancy Flowers for their extraordinary generosity and their commitment to making our young people's lives better through education. They are people of deep faith who humbly serve the Lord through their kindness to others."
Flow's Buds is a partnership that will create opportunities for the Flowers to engage with children from Mercy Home, providing guidance and support through visits to the home as well as field trips to the ballpark.