An all- Star pitcher in the major leagues gave away a $9.75 million mansion to a Christian camp for kids with special needs.
Pitcher Cole Hamels and his wife gave the very generous gift to Camp Barnabas.
Camp Barnabas has two locations in the Ozarks and notes in its values that “Christ comes first always” and staffers “point people to Christ in everything we do.”
The organization doesn’t just serve kids with special needs but also serves campers’ siblings and parents, as well as missionaries.
Hamels, who’s pitched for the Texas Rangers since 2015 after starting his career with the Philadelphia Phillies, said the work of Camp Barnabas “really pulled on our heartstrings. Seeing the faces, hearing the laughter, reading the stories of the kids they serve, there is truly nothing like it… We felt called to help them in a big way.”
The Hamels’ 32,000-square-foot mansion on Table Rock Lake in Branson, also sports more than 100 acres of land, and the whole package will let the camp “further its ministry and change thousands of lives for years to come.”
The couple built the mansion in 2012 when Hamels was still with the Phillies. The couple had listed the home for sale in 2017 but then changed their minds and decided to donate it to the camp.
Camp leaders say the gift will help them expand their ministry outside of summer activities.