Meet Our July Super Citizen

by Emma Kingkeo, Reston Letter Intern

Celebrating Reston kids who are making a difference in our community!

Henry holds some of his custom bats. Photo by Elizabeth Bainbridge.

Meet Henry, a 10-year-old at Hunters Woods Elementary School with a passion for wiffle ball and a resolve to share it with others. Equipped with duct tape and creativity, Henry customizes plastic wiffle ball bats with unique designs for his teammates, friends and fellow fans of the game. Additionally, he’s on a mission to create a local league that connects players from his community and gives them a dedicated place to enjoy the sport.

Henry had always been a baseball fan, so when he spotted a wiffle ball and bat at the store, it instantly grabbed his attention. Once he learned what wiffle ball was, and that there’s even a professional league dedicated to it, his curiosity turned into a full-blown passion.

“We went on to buy it, and the next day was Saturday, and the only thing I did pretty much the whole day, except eat, drink and sleep, was play,” he said.

Henry hosted his first wiffle ball game on Memorial Day, not having high hopes that many people would come. To his surprise, a crowd of nearly 30 10-year-old boys showed up, all excited to be a part of something new and fun.

Since then, Henry has made around 20 bats and is planning to open up for requests under HJB Bats. With each sale, he donates $1 of profit to the No Kid Hungry campaign to support their cause of ending child hunger.

Henry plans to host a wiffle ball tournament to celebrate National Wiffle Ball Day on Aug. 14.

Do you know someone in Reston who is under 18 and has done something kind in their community? If so, scan the QR code to nominate them to be featured as a super citizen in a future issue of The Reston Letter!