Twins stars past and present help make Week of Giving special

MINNEAPOLIS -- While the Twins’ baseball operations personnel were busy in Orlando, Fla., during the second week in December, they weren’t the only members of the organization with important business.

Twins players, alumni, front-office staff and even T.C. Bear got out in the Twin Cities Community while the meetings were going on. It was the 20th annual Holiday Week of Giving, and there was a lot going on.

It started Tuesday, Dec. 9, with a book fair at Folwell Elementary School in Minneapolis. Hall of Famer and Twins legend Bert Blyleven, current players Kody Funderburk and Alan Roden and T.C. Bear joined Twins volunteers to help with the book fair and read to the kids.

A total of 428 kids picked up 856 books over the course of the morning, and they weren’t the only ones who got something out of the event.

“Education is absolutely vital,” said Roden. “Reading is really important for opening up your mind to different things and different worlds or even different parts of the past. Reading is really important for growing your mind, and I think it’s a great thing that we’re doing here.”

Then on Wednesday, Blyleven, T.C. and Twins front-office staff participated in “Home for the Holidays,” an event providing a free meal to veterans as well as helping connect them with services like medical care, assistance and shelter programs.

And on Thursday, the club participated in “T.C. and Bullseye’s Merry Mountain,” a holiday celebration at Gillette Children’s Hospital -- a longstanding partner of the Twins. In addition to T.C., Target mascot Bullseye and Twins front-office personnel, a star-studded group of current and past Twins players helped brighten the kids’ day at Gillette.

The player contingent included Luke Keaschall, Royce Lewis, Baseball Hall of Famer Joe Mauer and Twins Hall of Famer Justin Morneau. The whole group took part in a joyful event that featured gifts, games, face painting, pictures and holiday treats.

“It’s beautiful,” said Keaschall. “We get an opportunity to give back to the community and an opportunity to see these kids who are fighting really hard. It shows that this game is bigger than just playing baseball. It’s bigger than all of us. It’s just a lot of fun to bring a smile to some kids’ faces.”

Other events throughout the week included: Blyleven and representatives from Twins partner Thrivent decorating book bags for area kids; T.C. surprising area families with Christmas trees; Twins front-office staff making fleece tie blankets to donate to YouthLink, which helps young people experiencing or at risk of homelessness; and a warm winter clothing drive for patients at Hennepin Healthcare.