Charlottesville Tom Sox in need of host families

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - Some of the best baseball players from schools all around the country are set to showcase their skills all summer long in Charlottesville, but there’s a key component to the success of the entire Tom Sox operation that still needs needs some help from the community.

“We need more host families because we have certain kids that are vaccinated, some that are not, and so obviously each family situation is a little bit different,” Tom Sox Host Family Coordinator Chesley Mullins said.

Mullins says having unvaccinated players is making the housing situation difficult.

“Traditionally, we have all kinds of host families,” she said. “We have some that are retired couples, we have some that have young children. Clearly, young children right now can’t be vaccinated and they’re also probably out playing youth sports, and so that is a pretty big concern.”

Tom Sox President Mike Paduano says the organization has expanded to look for host families outside Charlottesville and Albemarle County.

“This year because of COVID and a limited available beds, we’ve opened it up to Greene County, Madison County. So we we’ve set our reaches a little bit further this year in hopes to be able to house all players,” he said.

Paduano says life-time relationships can come out of hosting a player for a summer.

“I’ve done it for a long time,” he said. “It’s nice if you have kids that are playing baseball, or you’re involved in the baseball community. It’s friendships that will last forever. There’s guys that I hosted many years ago that I still communicate with on weekly basis.”

As far as living arrangements, the players don’t need any special treatment, just a place to call home and a supportive family.

“They need to have a bedroom,” Mullins said. “They need to have access to a bathroom, kitchen, and laundry. They don’t need their own entrance, they don’t mean luxurious accommodations.”

For these players coming into town, a supportive host family can go a long way.

“They need a family who’s going to come out to the ball field and support them and encourage them through the summer,” Muillins said. “It’s hard for kids to be away. A lot of them will come straight from school, and so then they need that family support.”