Country star Brown visits Boys & Girls Clubs for All-Star Week
FORT WORTH, Texas -- It’s not every day you get to perform for a country music star, but that’s exactly what kids from the North Fort Worth branch of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Tarrant County got to do on Saturday morning.
As part of the MLB Together All-Star Legacy initiative, Major League Baseball and the Rangers unveiled various repairs and improvements that included a refurbished sports court, a reorganized teen space with new STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) and workforce development work areas and a renovated music studio donated by musician Kane Brown.
Preston, 15, wasted no time playing the drums, which he picked up in January with the help of his music teacher, Mr. Jacob. He also took in all of the other new instruments.
“I can see myself pursuing music,” said Preston, who later played "Believer" by Imagine Dragons for Brown. “I'm doing engineering right now, but I'd say maybe I could like build a music room myself and then [you never know]. This is a great start. This is more than a good start. This is a lovely example.”
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Tarrant County’s North Fort Worth branch provides nearly 3,000 youth with a variety of services annually. One of the oldest and largest clubs in the region, it opened in 1935.
According to Karin Morris, executive director of the Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation, the location just south of the Stockyards resides in a neighborhood with third- and fourth-generation Hispanic families -- including Rangers legend Yovani Gallardo, who was in attendance.
“This was the site that really needed some love, and knowing that it was the team room that we're going to do activities in like baseball, and then also knowing that it was that age group that would probably be influenced a little bit positively by a Major League Baseball team and Major League Baseball ... paying attention to them and caring for them, that's really why we picked it,” Morris said.
This project is part of the 2024 All-Star Legacy program, which seeks to leave behind a meaningful impact in the greater Dallas, Fort Worth and Arlington communities. The Rangers and several long-time Rangers community partners will make a combined investment of nearly $7 million into projects supporting the youth of these communities.
Along with the renovations, Chevrolet, the official vehicle brand of Major League Baseball, also donated a 2025 Chevrolet Suburban for club usage. The Suburban has been built in Arlington for the past 70 years.
“It's all of our values together in one legacy project, so this one is incredibly exciting for us,” said April Brown, MLB’s senior vice president of social responsibility. “The whole child, it's not just about the physical activity. It's about the workforce development and setting them up for future careers. It's about taking care of their mental health and giving them the opportunity to become who they want to be. So the STEAM piece to that introduces them to all of those different elements educationally.”
As MLB’s official charitable partner, the Boys & Girls Clubs of America has been a consistent beneficiary of the All-Star Legacy program since its inception in 1997.
Brown, who wasn’t shy about discussing his rough childhood with those in attendance, cheered on as 10-year-old Monica sang Keyshia Cole’s “Love.” He and Monica later christened the new court in a game of Wiffle Ball.
“My brother always got in trouble because he had so much free time and we didn't have that place that we could call a home or have people watching out for us,” Brown said. “So that's how I found out about the Boys & Girls Club. I wish we had that whenever I was younger. It just made me appreciate the Boys & Girls Club so much more. So I'm glad that y'all have a place to call home. I'm excited to hear that the studio is done.”
Daphne Barlow Stigliano, CEO and president of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Tarrant County, gave a shout-out to “The Boys” -- Julian (12), Kayden (12) and Exodus (11) -- who later performed an original rap for Brown. He marveled at their confidence at such a young age.
“This is an amazing place where you get to be yourself -- and I'm talking to you, our teens, our club members,” Stigliano said. “This is where you get to enjoy being the best that you bring to the world every single day when you walk through the doors of your Boys & Girls Club. It's places like this that help a young person belong, feel like they've got a place.”