OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Mike Jones from Council Bluffs has a big collection of baseball cards. For the first time, he brought his 'Packs 4 Pals' to the Men's College World Series.
"I probably donated 10,000 from myself and then over the last six months I have probably had 150,000 cards donated from across the country," Jones said.
He brought 1,000 packs of 20 cards each, all from donations and is giving them away to kids for free.
"I am not in this part of the hobby to make money. It's getting cards out to kids, that in some cases you know the kids may not have access to cards," Jones said.
All of the packs are random.
"It's about as random as it can get. When I take the cards, I sort them into categories," Jones said.
Jones hopes the kids take away more than just the baseball cards but memories too.
"I hope someday they remember this and find a way to give back. And I think we could use a lot more of that these days and instill a lot more of that in today's youth," Jones said.
While introducing some to a new hobby.
"A way to get them started with collecting, and you know hopefully they can find some friends that they can trade with and start building relationships, through pieces of cardboard with faces on them," Jones said.
Seeing the smiles on the kids' faces sparks memories for Jones.
"It just kind of takes me back to when I was a kid and I would ask my mom at the grocery store to buy me a pack of cards and the times she said yes," Jones said.
Getting the kids excited before the games even begin.
Jones will be in the Baseball Village on Friday too, right next to the Rawlings tent. The cards are free but he accepts donations which will towards making more card packs for other events, groups and kids.
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