Red Sox Honor Concord Teen

For the ninth straight year, the Boston Red Sox and Lindos Sueños, presented by JetBlue Airways, sent American teens to the Dominican Republic where they performed community service and played baseball alongside teammates from across the Dominican Republic. The teens, including 17-year-old Ben Scharlotte of Concord, were honored during a pregame ceremony at Fenway Park on Aug. 25.
 
After a nationwide search and interview process, Scharlotte was selected as one of the 20 teen participants (10 American, 10 Dominican) in this year’s program.  The trip took place from July 25 to Aug. 3. Program sponsor JetBlue donated roundtrip flights from Boston to Santo Domingo for all 10 American teens and members of the Lindos Sueños staff.
 
“The Dominican Republic is a beautiful island with a rich culture – making it a popular vacation destination, but it has communities in need,” said Ronda Ivy McLeod, regional marketing manager at JetBlue. “The Lindos Sueños program bridges the common appeal of baseball and community service and allows JetBlue to contribute directly to the people of the Dominican Republic through the volunteerism of these hardworking teens.

This year, the Lindos Sueños participants performed their community service in El Mamón de Guerra, a small village adjacent to the Red Sox Dominican Academy. While in El Mamón, Scharlotte and his 19 teammates rebuilt a total of 5 homes over the course of just seven mornings of work.
 
“I definitely appreciate everything in the states so much more now.  I mean, I will never take anything for granted again.  I’m never going to look at things the same again, it’s just jaw-dropping,” said Scharlotte.
 
Scharlotte, who considers himself an amateur small engine mechanic, quickly took to some of the more complicated woodworking projects.
 
“Whenever there was a more intricate construction problem that needed to be solved, Ben was right there,” said Mike Olano, the director of the Lindos Sueños program.  “It was fun to watch him learn new – often much more rudimentary concepts in construction.  You could tell he really enjoyed being able to apply some of his engineering expertise to help these families.”
 
Each afternoon, Scharlotte and the program participants played baseball together at the Red Sox JetBlue Dominican Academy. The teens practiced on professional baseball fields and competed together against teams from neighboring towns in the Dominican. The participants’ instruction was overseen by Red Sox Director of Dominican Academy, Jesus Alou. A native of the Dominican Republic, Alou played 15 seasons in the major leagues with the Giants, Astros, Athletics, and Mets, and at one time played in the same major league outfield alongside his brothers Felipe and Matty.

Similar to the eight previous trips, the program was primarily funded by contributions to the Red Sox Foundation from private donors. This year’s program was also designated as a recipient of one of the Red Sox “100 Acts of Kindness” – a program that recognizes and supports the work of charitable organizations during Fenway Park’s 100th anniversary season. As one of the recipients, the program received materials for the home construction; uniforms from Red Sox corporate partner New Balance; and tools from Red Sox corporate partner Stanley Tools.