Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Vernon Wells leaves the field after batting practice at the team's MLB baseball spring training facility in Dunedin, Florida February 26, 2010. REUTERS/Fred ThornhillFRED THORNHILL/Reuters
The excited children swarmed the baseball star, thrusting anything they could find under his nose to autograph, including scraps of paper, the shoes from their feet, even dollar bills.
One ecstatic lad who was grasping a piece of paper that had just been signed was asked if he knew who the celebrity was, and he shook his head no. It didn't matter.
"The kids don't care," said Vernon Wells, the Blue Jays centre fielder. "They say, 'Oh he plays baseball, that's great.' "
Tuesday was an off-day for the Jays following their 5-4 season-opening loss to the Texas Rangers on Monday.
They get back at it Wednesday night when pitcher Brian Tallet will attempt to earn Toronto its first win of the season, with Victoria native Rich Harden throwing for the Rangers.
Wells, who smacked a home run in the first game, took the opportunity Tuesday to attend a groundbreaking event for his charitable foundation, the Perfect 10. He grew up in nearby Arlington.
Wells is donating between $700,000 and $800,000 from his foundation for the construction of two fourplex homes that will be used for single mothers and their children, many of whom are homeless and live in desperate poverty.
The homes will be built in this north Texas suburb, about 70 kilometres east of Dallas, on the Arms of Hope - Boles Children's Home campus.
The children who were clustered around Wells live on the campus, which also includes a school and a church. The new homes, which are expected to be completed by the end of the year, will provide residences for eight additional families.
Forget the ignominy of an 0-for-4 day at the plate, which Wells has endured far too often over three consecutive lacklustre seasons.
He said none of that really matters when compared to the daily struggles some of these children have endured.
"Ten years down the line, nobody's going to care what I did [in baseball]" Wells said. "This is the opportunity to make an impact on a much grander scale. You start changing lives, you start impacting people from within. That's where you make your mark in this life."
Wells said the urge to help these families took root in 2007 during the off-season, when he and his wife, Charlene, were involved in a charitable endeavour, taking a group of underprivileged children from the Arlington area shopping for basic needs.
"We had a six-year-old and a three-year-old, both boys, brothers," Wells said. "The three-year-old didn't say a word. He was attached to his brother. His brother pretty much took care of him.
"I remember kneeling down to take off the three-year-old's shoes, because we were buying them shoes and socks, and I nearly fell over from the smell. His socks were black. You could see the day-to-day neglect that they go through.
"We had to take all the price tags off of everything so their parents couldn't take them back and get money for drugs and things like that. It was an amazing experience. It opened our eyes to a lot of things."
Wells, who is the father of two boys, aged 7 and 4, said he knew right then that he wanted to do more.
As for his professional life, Wells is hoping he will be able to build on a solid start on Monday, when he went 3-for-4 at the plate with a home run and three runs batted in.
"You hope so," he said. "I think it's just trying to be consistent, get ready on time and let everything else work."