Baseball Team Rallies ‘Round Player Whose Mom Was Murdered

In near triple-digit heat Heather Frederick and Carlton Walker were 
staying cool in the shade of a fireworks stand on Rio Linda's M 
Street. Both are team parents of teenagers under the guidance of the
Jerry Manuel Foundation, a baseball charter school in Elverta. 
JMF has been actively training urban kids to be leaders both on
and off the baseball field.
Fireworks Fundraiser

Fireworks Fundraiser

All this week, the fireworks stand is also providing relief to the 
family of Jaelyn Williams, a player whose mother was murdered in her 
Sacramento home last April. Jaelyn's father is not in the picture, 
so the young man moved to San Diego to live with his grandfather. 
But the team - and the Foundation have not forgotten Jaelyn or
the loss of his mother Alyssa Williams, who also served as the 
team mom.

"It was devastating," Walker told KCRA 3. "My son and Jaelyn were 
good friends and he said, 'Dad I can't believe what just happened,' 
and I said, 'it's part of life son. You know we don't wish those 
types of things on people but things happen,'".

But Walker, Frederick and other parents are now trying to turn a 
negative into a positive, by holding a fireworks fundraiser to 
benefit Jaelyn. "So we're giving back to the community, which is 
Jaelyn," Frederick told KCRA 3. "The profits we are going
to give to him to help offset the costs for the tragic loss. 
Our mission is child, family, community."
Jerry Manuel Foundation

Jerry Manuel Foundation

And so far, business is good. "As of right now we've raised about 
$1,200" Frederick said. "The goal is to raise $10,000, which we can 
donate $5,000 to Jaelyn" after expenses to TNT for the fireworks are 
paid off, Frederick explained.

When the team learned of Alyssa Williams' death back in April, 
"the boys were very shocked because all the boys knew her," 
Frederick told KCRA 3. "So it was really sad but they went to 
Jaelyn's aid and Jaelyn went to them for help."

But the fireworks fundraiser is part of JMF's mission, 
"to give back to the community," Walker said. "Jerry Manuel has 
given back to the community. He's been a tremendous help to a number 
of kids in the community that come from all over. And
it's a great program to be involved in."

Jerry Manuel was a baseball prodigy at Cordova High School who 
later managed the Chicago White Sox from 1998 - 2003 and the 
New York Mets from 2008 - 2010. In addition to working with 
Sacramento area teens, Manuel is also launching a baseball
program at William Jessup University in Rocklin, where he is the 
director of baseball operations. His wife Renette and son Anthony 
are both on the board of directors for the Jerry Manuel Foundation.

The fireworks fundraiser is sending an important lifeline to Jaelyn 
and his teammates. "Definitely life's lessons," Walker said. 
"To help somebody else when they need help," Walker told KCRA 3.

The fireworks display is located at 416 M Street in Rio Linda and 
will be staffed by volunteers from the Jerry Manuel Foundation 
through the 4th of July.

About Mike

Mike Luery is an award-winning journalist with 25 years on TV and radio. Currently, he is the political reporter for KCRA-TV, the top-ranked station in Sacramento. This is Luery's second tour of duty with KCRA, where he was also a reporter from 1984 - 2000. In between, he was NBC's Capitol Bureau Chief in California and a reporter for CBS 13 in Sacramento. Luery lives in northern California with his wife Carol. Baseball Between Us is his first book.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink.