White House Author

Baseball is the American pastime, and Bradley Blizard showed great American spirit in 2009, when he recognized an opportunity to help children with special needs in Jamestown, North Carolina. Through Miracle League, he rallied fellow members of the Jamestown Middle School Builders Club (a Kiwanis International service program for middle school students) to serve as volunteer “buddies”—running the bases and fielding the ball for the players who needed that help. Today, more than 100 disabled students fulfill their dream of playing baseball each year. Now a high school sophomore and member of the Ragsdale High School Key Club, Bradley has recruited his fellow baseball teammates from his high school to become involved with the High Point Miracle League. Next season he plans to extend his volunteer recruitment efforts to all of the area high school teams. Bradley’s work has shown what great things can happen with an idea, passion and someone taking the first step to “get the baseball rolling.”