Former MLB pitcher walks for charity

By CHARITY SMITH

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Ironwood — A former Major League Baseball player, decided to commemorate his 55 years on earth by walking the Iron Belle Trail for a charitable cause on Thursday.

Eric Hillman, of Ironwood, who pitched for the New York Mets from 1992-1994, raised $17,209 of his $20,000 goal as of press-time Friday. The money raised is going directly to No Kid Hungry in honor of his 55th birthday on April 27. Along with raising money for the organization, he said he also hopes to bring awareness to the cause.

“Not all these kids obviously are going to grow up to be big leaguers, but every kid deserves to eat like a big leaguer every day,” Hillman said. “The kids are the real winners here.”

No Kid Hungry is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that provides meals for hundreds of low income children across the country. According to Hillman the organization is able to provide 10 meals for every dollar that it receives.

“A lot of these kids relied on in-class schooling to get two of their three meals a day,” said Hillman. “This pandemic has really made a bad situation that much worse... everybody talks about wanting to get our economy back together and it starts at home and it starts with just trying to get three square meals into children every day.”

Hillman started walking the Iron Belle trail at mile marker 0.0 at the Montreal River at midnight and continued walking between Ironwood and Ramsey (mile 9) until 10:30 a.m. In all he walked 33 miles.

“This place is heaven on earth,” he said of Ironwood. “It’s like walking around in a Hallmark movie.”

Hillman grew up in the Chicago area, but said he feels right at home in Ironwood. He said he particularly loves the proximity to Lake Superior and and all the natural beauty up here.

“It is kind of proof positive that age is just a number and you can still contribute and make a difference and do what we can to help each other out in this world the best we can,” he said of his endeavor.

The donation page will continue to be active until May 1. To donate go to join.nokidhungry.org/goto/EricHillman.