St. Louis Cardinals’ All-Star Brendan Donovan grew up in a military family.
His father, U.S. Army Col. James Donovan, has been deployed all over the world, including Lebanon, Iraq, Korea, Afghanistan and Germany.
Cardinals beat writer John Denton details these military ties in one of his latest articles for MLB.com. With a firsthand knowledge of the struggles that veterans often go through, Donovan has been doing all he can to make an impact.
How is Donovan giving back?
Donovan has done extensive work with The Kaufman Fund, an organization that provides veterans in need “with life’s basic necessities,” according to its mission statement.
“Unfortunately, that’s often the case where these soldiers come back and they are forgotten,” Donovan said, per Denton. “We live in the best country in the world, and we have all these incredible freedoms. I’m able to go and play a kid’s game for my job because of what guys like my dad, and men and women all around this city have done for our country. So, I think it’s important to raise awareness about what they have done and what they are going through when they return.”
The Kaufman fund was started in 1990 by Vietnam war veteran Ralph Kaufman. Today, his younger brother, Wayne, runs the organization. Donovan’s partnership with the fund began when he met Kaufman at Busch Stadium on the day the Cardinals’ utility player was named a 2024 finalist for the Bob Feller Act of Valor award, according to Denton. Feller was a World War II veteran.
“Their service outreach is 90 miles around the Gateway Arch, and they do so much good for veterans,” he said. “I just want to use my platform to help grow that program because they do so much for the veteran community. Those veterans sacrificed for this country, so it’s always going to be important to me to do what I can for them.”