George Washington University Athletics
GW Baseball Alum Kemp Honored with Community Service Award
10/3/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
by Lauren Shear
George Washington baseball alum Shane Kemp, who recently completed his second year as a pitcher in the Pittsburgh Pirates farm system, was honored as a winner of the Pirates Community Commitment Award in an on-field ceremony at PNC Park last weekend. The honor is presented to a players from each Minor League affiliates that best exemplifies their commitment to their communities as well as their leadership on and off the field.
"It was really special," said Kemp. " I was able to have my family come out and share in this experience with me. PNC Park is such a beautiful park, probably one of the best in baseball, and to actually be there on the field, a place where I hope to play one day; it was amazing."
While playing for the Bristol Pirates (Rookie League, Appalachian League), Kemp volunteered more than 13 hours, in addition to his community service earlier in the year during extended spring training. Some of his favorite community service projects include reading to kids in daycare and school, helping out at local youth baseball practices and volunteering at a local food bank.
"Being in professional baseball, we have such an amazing opportunity to reach out and give back to the community in many ways," he said. " It's such an amazing platform because people look up to us, especially the kids. I remember being one of those little kids and looking up to those people who were where I wanted to be later in life and being so happy that I could spend some time with them and learn from them. Now we are given the opportunity to be those people that these kids look up to, and for as long as we play this game, whether that be 4-5 years, or 24-25 years, it would be a shame if you didn't take advantage of that and have a positive impact on the lives of others."
The GW baseball alum was also an active member of the community during his time on campus. Along with members of the baseball team, Kemp spent many hours volunteering at a local retirement home.
"My favorite memory was just going down to the local retirement home to play bingo with those guys," said Kemp. "Sometimes you may be the only friend that walks through those doors to hangout with them for a very long time. Even if they do get frequent visitors, I enjoyed talking with them and listening to the stories that they had to share. Often times, it makes you take a step back and look at life through a different lens which is what we need sometimes."
The community commitment honor comes after Kemp's second year in the Pirate's Minor League circuit. With two years of experience under his belt, he hopes to continue making a positive impact in the community on and off the field.
"I would say that my first full season was pretty successful. I made a lot of positive strides and I am head and shoulder above where I was a year ago. I'm looking forward to building off of those successes this offseason and returning to Spring Training, ready to hit the ground running."
