Royals host all-abilities baseball camp for Variety KC kids

As the Royals lined up to play the White Sox, kids in Kansas City lined up to take a swing at Kauffman Stadium's "Little K," where the team hosted an all-abilities baseball camp with Variety KC.

Variety KC’s mission is to provide access to vital medical equipment for children with disabilities.

Former Royals player Jaime Bluma joined the kids on the field.

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“You just take for granted what you have the ability to do that they don’t,” Bluma said. “To see their eyes light up and then go pick their jersey up off the fence and put it on, that’s pretty awesome."

Dave Pullin, stepdad to Austin Vaughn, a participant at the camp, told KSHB 41 how Variety KC has made a difference for his family.

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“Austin, you love to pitch, don’t you?” Pullin said.

“Yeah, I like to pitch,” Austin replied.

“Yeah, you’re really good, but you don’t get that opportunity in some of just the regular rec leagues," Pullin said. "Opportunities like this where he can actually be part of the community and come and try things that just normal kids get to do, that really means a lot because Austin's got a lot to offer that isn’t always obvious right at first."

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Other Variety KC families, like the Buckmans, agreed.

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“That’s one of the main things we love about Variety KC is just the ability to give students or children the ability to kind of do things that all kids want to do,” Greg Buckman said.

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