Memory of ‘Hendu’ helps Rizzs continue to give

SEATTLE — For 20 years, Rick Rizzs worked with Dave Henderson to distribute gifts to homeless and sick children in the Seattle area through their Toys For Kids program, a charity that grew from a grassroots effort among a handful of Mariners players to a robust service that now brings a little Christmas cheer to thousands around the Puget Sound area.

But while the program is still going strong — reaching a record number of dollars raised and toys and cash distributed to needy families this winter — one thing is missing this year: Henderson, who died of a heart attack two days after last Christmas at the age of 57.

“I miss him like crazy,” said Rizzs, the longtime Mariners broadcaster who worked with Henderson in the booth as well as with their charity efforts. “It was 21 years ago that Hendu and I were sitting in a bar in Pioneer Square after a game, having a cold beer and watching a news report on TV about the homeless people in Seattle.”

From that conversation, pondering how many of those homeless had kids who wouldn’t be getting a Christmas present, spawned the idea of raising a little money from Mariners stalwarts like Edgar Martinez, Jay Buhner, Dan Wilson, John Olerud, Norm Charlton, Julio Cruz, Bill Haselman, Matt Sinatro, Bill Krueger and Omar Vizquel, and buying some toys to deliver to homeless and women’s shelters.

From the 12 original donors, Rizzs gathered $18,000 and bought about …

continue reading in source mlb.mlb.com