Want to donate to Warm the Children? Download a donation form.

Until this fall, Aaron Crooks was in his comfort zone.

For the past four years, the Eastern Michigan University baseball player has escorted a family in need on a Warm the Children shopping trip, helping them pick out clothing, keeping track of the tab and impressing the young boys with his athletic accomplishments.


But this year, Crooks said, he helped a family with four girls, ranging from an infant to a 15-year-old.

“It was different,” he said.

There were no Spiderman or Batman pajamas, no talk about baseball. Instead, it was about jeans and socks and boots. 
The girls were not impressed. “For the boys, especially the younger boys, we’re just as good as being professional baseball players,” Crooks said. “Teenage boys, they ask what schools we play and what’s it like. The girls, they weren’t too interested in baseball.”

Crooks and about 25 other EMU baseball players continued a team tradition of volunteering with the Warm the Children program. The annual effort was started by the Ann Arbor News 13 years ago and was taken over by AnnArbor.com when the News closed last summer.

Readers are asked to donate funds that are used to buy new winter clothing for area children in need. Every dollar raised goes toward the clothing, with AnnArbor.com covering the administrative costs. Each child is given a $90 voucher for new clothing and this year’s goal is to raise $250,000. For many of the children, it’s the only chance to have new clothes. 



Crooks, a senior who coordinated his team’s volunteer efforts this year, noticed other differences between shopping for boys and shopping for girls..

“The girls know what they want. At the same time, they take more time getting it. The boys grab whatever and if it fits, they wear it,” he said. “When there are boys in the family, it’s easier for us. I have three other brothers.”

And while there wasn’t much baseball chatter with the three girls he helped, their shyness melted away after 10 minutes, Crooks said. 


Whether it’s girls or boys, it’s a positive thing to do, Crooks said.

“The whole experience is touching. It’s not our money that they’re spending, but they still appreciate that we show up. There’s not much time in college to socialize with little kids, to meet new people. But as soon as they meet you, they say thank you. Every time you hand them some clothes, they say thank you. When you leave, they say thank you.”


The EMU baseball program has participated for at least six years, said Jim Mulchay, who coordinates the effort between the EMU team and AnnArbor.com. EMU players team up to work with about 10 families each year, assisting up to 30 children a year. Mulchay has filled in as a shopper when needed.



It was important for his team to continue the Warm the Children tradition, said head EMU baseball coach Jay Alexander, who is in his second year with the program. “Our duty is to give back.”

His players serve as role models for the children. “It shows them that college is good and that you have to be good in school to go to college,” he said. 


And it’s a boost for the players, said pitcher Corey Chaffins, who has participated for the past four years.

“We’re like celebrities to them. It’s a big deal to some of the kids. They ask us questions: How good are you? How fast do you throw?”