Scott Rolen batting against the Atlanta Braves in Spring Training. Click to enlarge photo.
photo by Tim Evearitt (file photo)
Tired of the stories about high paid professional athletes in trouble with the law or in jail because of drug use?
Consider the vision and actions of St. Louis Cardinals third baseman
Scott Rolen who has bought 40 acres for a campground for ill or troubled children and their families.
Rolen also will pay operating expenses for the camp, which will include 12 cabins and a clubhouse and provide activities such as swimming, baseball, soccer, canoeing, miniature golf and horseback riding.
Camp Emma Lou, about 20 miles south of Bloomington, Indiana will be run by Rolen's brother, Todd.
The camp's name comes from Scott Rolen's dog, Emma Lou, a 5-year-old Labrador.
The Rolens hope to open the camp in late 2005. It will operate from mid-April to mid-October.
The Rolens plan to work with service organizations to identify groups of children that would most benefit.
The Rolens are from Jasper, Indiana.
Rolen got the idea for the camp from hospital visits he had made while participating in programs such as the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
"He saw a real need, not only from the kids' perspective, but from the parents'," said Todd Rolen, who resigned from his job as a high school biology teacher and now heads a fund-raising campaign targeting $5 million for the camp facilities.
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Adapted from article on the Cincinnati Enquirer website.