Former Red Sox fan favorite Brock Holt continues passion to help Jimmy Fund

Brock Holt and his family may not physically be in Boston anymore, but their hearts still are.

The former Red Sox utility man and fan favorite who spent seven seasons in Boston was a fixture with the Jimmy Fund and that hasn’t changed since he left. Now with the Texas Rangers, he and his wife Lakyn have launched a campaign called “holtoffcancer” to raise money and awareness for the fight against childhood cancer.

In 2019, the Holts created an initiative to raise funds for the Jimmy Fund with their “BrockingOutCancer” T-shirts, and they’re doing something similar now. Their “holtoffcancer” shirts and hats are now available, with proceeds splitting between the Jimmy Fund and the Pediatric Oncology Unit at Cook Children’s Hospital in Fort Worth, Texas, where Holt is a native.

Holt said they raised more money than they expected with the 2019 initiative and it’s something they wanted to continue to do. They remain close with the Jimmy Fund — he was the Red Sox’ Jimmy Fund captain from 2016-19 — and he still maintains relationships with kids and their families they met. After joining the Red Sox in 2013, helping in the fight against childhood cancer became a passion and calling for Holt.

“I learned from my first spring training how important the Jimmy Fund was to the Red Sox and I’ve always loved kids and wanted to help out in any way I could,” Holt said Thursday as his Rangers got ready for a four-game series against the Red Sox. I kind of got my foot in the door there my first year and then every year since, dove a little bit deeper into it and spent a lot of time at the Jimmy Fund and with the some of the kids and some of the families and was able to build some really good, really strong relationships with some kids there, some families there and I’m still close with some of them today.

“We FaceTime, check on the kids, check on the families and it’s just been a special place for me and my wife our entire time in Boston. It’s just a place that we’ll always continue to try and help out however we can.”

Holt will always hold Boston close to his heart, not only for being a part of two championship teams but because of what he called a “perfect fit” in having the opportunity to make the impact he’s had with the Jimmy Fund. Helping is something that he takes great pride in and he has no plans of stopping anytime soon.

“Being able to help out like this, even if it’s just a small amount, I’m very grateful to be able to do that,” Holt said. “I’ve said it before in a previous interview that we’re very fortunate as professional athletes to have a platform and to be able to have things like this to help out. I’m trying to use it the best I can. Baseball’s not going to last forever, so it’s something that I enjoy doing. I want to help and me and my wife, we’re trying to do that. Hopefully these shirts can help raise some money and we can make a little bit of a difference for a family or two in need, so that’s what we’re trying to do. Like I said, we’re going to do it until we can’t anymore.”

Holt, now 32, is playing sparingly with the Rangers after short stints with the Brewers and Nationals last year. He, his wife Lakyn and son Griffin are all officially moved out of Boston, which he said was a sad day for their neighbors, but they remain close with the community.

He also keeps tabs on his former team, which includes Kiké Hernández in his old utility spot.

“If you ask Joe Kelly, they got the more athletic, better version in Kiké,” Holt joked. “No, I’m a huge fan of Kiké and those guys. Man, I’m obviously not rooting for the Red Sox the next four days, but always rooting for everyone on that team and in that organization. I’m excited to see some of the guys tonight, for sure.”

The #holtoffcancer T-shirts and hats to support the fight against childhood cancer can be purchased at: jasportstexas.com/collections/holtoffcancer

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3gTm2Ua