A tragedy that struck the Smuin family two years ago with the death of their son CJ has led to inspiring and educating hundreds since his unfortunate passing. This led to the creation of the CJ Smuin Memorial Foundation, which aims to spread awareness about suicide and its prevention as well as award scholarships to deserving baseball players.
The foundation continued its mission over the weekend as the second annual CJ Smuin Memorial Scholarship Hitting Camp was hosted. The event brought hundreds to the Carbon County Event Center over the weekend for the hitting camp, a raffle, dinner and more.
The camp was split into junior and senior sessions for those ages eight to 18. Each session was followed by a motivational speech by coach Brent Wareham, a former player of Mesa State Mavericks and the Baltimore Orioles and current coach at Montrose High School in Colorado.
The event concluded on Saturday evening with a dinner and speeches by Pat Smuin and mental health expert Nevin Alderman. Both spoke on the importance of suicide prevention and awareness to a packed house.
“Thank you to everyone involved in making our camp a success,” said Nicole Smuin, CJ’s mother. “We couldn’t do it without this amazing community.”
Proceeds from the camp benefit the foundation, which will in turn be used for scholarships for local baseball players as well as suicide prevention and awareness.
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- Photos Courtesy of Buskin Production
