ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis Cardinals pitcher purchased "thousands" of books from a local Black-owned bookstore and has donated them to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater St. Louis, officials with the nonprofit said.
Pitcher Jack Flaherty bought the books from University City bookstore EyeSeeMe and donated them to the nonprofit to encourage youth to develop a love for reading, Boys & Girls Club officials said Thursday. Flaherty surprised the club with the donation, which included some of his favorite books growing up such as the "Magic Tree House" series and author Mike Lupica's sports stories.
The value of the donation wasn't disclosed. The Boys & Girls Clubs made the announcement on opening day for the Cardinals at Busch Stadium; the Cardinals won 3-1 over the Milwaukee Brewers.
“The city of St. Louis has embraced me from the beginning of my time as a professional baseball player. We couldn’t think of a better way to give directly back to the community by supporting a local, Black-owned business with the EyeSeeMe Bookstore and simultaneously donating them all to the Boys & Girls Club of Greater St. Louis,” Flaherty said of the partnership. “I hope these stories and adventures will inspire the next generation as reading held such an important part of my development. I am excited to work with both organizations in the future and it’s an honor to support them all today.”
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