Cubs' Anthony Rizzo Donates To Cancer Patient's Fund To Freeze Her Eggs

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL — Since helping lead the Chicago Cubs to a World Series title last year, first baseman Anthony Rizzo has been staying busy in the offseason. But he hasn't been nonstop partying or staying in shape for another championship run this season.

Instead, he's spent his time keeping his good Samaritan skills sharp by helping out people around the Chicago area.

Last month, the three-time All-Star lent his support to Henry Sembdner, 12, the South Elgin middle-schooler who hospitalized after he was badly beaten by a fellow student, offering him tickets to batting practice passes to an upcoming home game at Wrigley Field.

Rizzo wasn't finished with February, though. He also donated to an Arlington Heights nursing student's fund to freeze her eggs with the hopes of becoming pregnant after her leukemia goes into remission, the Daily Herald reports.

RELATED: Cubs' Anthony Rizzo Shows Support For South Elgin Boy Badly Beaten At Middle School

Emily Kmiecik, a 26-year-old Harper College student who was diagnosed with the disease in 2013, set up a GoFundMe page to raise $20,000 to save her eggs after finding out the cancer she had previously battled had returned, the report stated. Kmiecik learned this week that she will need more chemotherapy than originally anticipated before she receives a bone marrow transplant, the report added.

When Kmiecik learned about the recurrence of her disease last month, she broke the news to Rizzo's mom, Laurie, who she had become friends with through the ballplayer's Anthony Rizzo Family Foundation, according to the report. In 2008, Rizzo was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma, which has since been in remission.

Days after telling Laurie egg-freezing fund received a $2,500 bump from the first baseman.

"I felt almost unworthy, in a way," Kmiecik, who recently became engaged, told the Herald. "It felt overwhelming. I was just taken aback."

Even with all this good Samaritan-ing, Rizzo still was able to deliver a special, surprise message to former Cubs teammate David Ross, who was recently chosen to appear on the upcoming season of "Dancing With the Stars."

"Can't wait to watch those hips move. They don't lie, baby," Rizzo told the retired catcher during a taped spot on "Good Morning America." "Try not to suck."

More via the Daily Herald

Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo (photo by Julie Fennell on Flickr | Wikimedia Commons)

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