Choate's Notes: Fightin for a Cause

READING, Pa.---Who would have thought something like social media could be used to help raise money and awareness for organizations and relief efforts around the globe?

After horrific tornados swept through Oklahoma in May, Fightin Phils infielder and Sooner State native Tyler Henson and his wife Ashley, spearheaded a relief fundraiser to benefit two families who lost it all.

The fundraiser benefitted families that the Hensons have known for quite some time. The Hensons were close friends of one of the families for years while the wife of the second family was a high school friend of Tyler. Both families must restart their lives since their cars, houses and everything including the pictures hanging on their walls were part of the tornado wreckage.

So, the Hensons and a few other Fightin Phils players took to Twitter in order to raise money for the destruction in Oklahoma. Cameron Rupp, Jesse Biddle, Jim Murphy, David Buchanan, Jay Johnson and Seth Rosin each donated 10 cents for every retweet of one of their posts on their respective pages.

The team threw around ideas before sticking to the social media plan. Henson credited Fightins catcher Cameron Rupp with the Twitter idea.

"It started out (that) we'd set up a website to raise money," Henson said. Yet, the guys wanted something a little more personal.

The official Twitter tally has not yet been counted, but according to Henson, the number is close to 2,500 plus, meaning the players will donate just around $250-$300 all thanks to retweets.

However, they did not stop there. With an idea sparked by Ashley, the entire team donated autographed memorabilia to be raffled off at FirstEnergy Stadium during a pair of home games. Items included balls, bats, cleats, gloves, apparel and more. All proceeds will be going directly to the two families from Moore, OK. There were two raffles held at America's Classic Ballpark, and between both, they raised close to $2,200 to aid to the families.

The families in Moore are waiting until the safest possible time, and of course. when insurance steps in, until they start the rebuilding process.

"We are going to split the money directly in half and write two checks," said Henson about what the team would do with the raised funds. "This way, they can do whatever they need to do."

Tyler and Ashley do not plan on stopping with their past relief efforts. Tyler's brother, who is currently living in Oklahoma, was affected by the most recent tornado on Saturday after approximately 6-8 inches of rain flooded his family's house.

"I would like to set something up to help him and his family," he said. "I'm going to get together with my wife and figure something out with her. I would like to get some local businesses together and maybe auction some stuff off that way."

The Hensons will continue to brainstorming some new ideas until they come up with different ideas to raise money for the storm victims. Be sure to stay connected with Tyler Henson on Twitter @hendog4 and @ReadingFightins for all updates to find out how you can help tornado relief efforts.