Iowa Boy Makes Baseball Bats, Used Money from Selling to Help His Community

An Iowa boy makes baseball bats and sells all that he has made. He used money from selling to help his community after a devastating wind storm that struck their place.

The 12-year-old boy, Tommy Rhomberg, has already made 115 baseball bats. He used wood that was brought down by the storm in making the baseball bats that he sold.

According to reports, he has already raised thousands of dollars for his community.

The idea of selling the baseball bats

At first, the Iowa boy, Rhomberg, made a baseball bat as a birthday gift to his friend. However, some people got interested to own a Great Derecho bat. Because of this, Rhomberg thought of selling the baseball bats to raise funds.

In the website, The Great Derecho, the Iowa boy shared, "Since so many people in our area need help after the storm, let's work together to make a difference for them."

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Making the baseball bats

The baseball bat that he did as a gift for his friend, took ten hours for Tommy to finish.

When the orders came in from friends and neighbors, Tommy needed to ask for help. That is why his grandfather had to step in and help. Instead of sanding the wood to create the baseball bats, Tommy started to use a lathe.

(Photo: Photo from Facebook Page of The Great Derecho - Tommy's Baseball Bat Story)
Iowa Boy Makes Baseball Bats, Used Money from Selling to Help His Community

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Donating a portion of his sales

The wind storm or derecho that struck the state in August did not damage much the Iowa boy's home. However, when he goes around their town and sees the damage that the derecho brought to their home, he felt that he needed to do something to help the people in his community.

He said in an interview with CBS News, "Just driving around town there were people with half their house destroyed, and I just wanted to raise money so we could help them, help people rebuild." 

Tommy thought of giving 20 dollars to The Greater Cedar Rapids Foundation Disaster Relief Fund for every purchase of the baseball bat that he made.

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Money raised for the community

According to reports, the Iowa boy has already donated 2500 US Dollars to his community. 

Because of the efforts that he has put into the project, people from other states have also been purchasing the Great Derecho bats. In a report, Tommy's mom, Amanda, shared that there are people as far as Arizona and Connecticut that purchased the bats made by the Iowa boy.

Right now, Tommy is not accepting additional orders of the bats. However, on his website, everyone can opt to be put on the waitlist.

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