Tom Walter and Kevin Jordan Use Their Story to Inspire Others to “Get In the Game”
10/14/2020 10:30:00 AM | Baseball, General
Their new non-profit organization focuses on empowering young people to take action and create change.
Kevin had been diagnosed with ANCA vasculitis in April 2010 and shortly after arriving at Wake Forest in August, doctors at Wake Forest Baptist Health informed him that his kidney was functioning at 8% and he would need a new one. What happened next has been written about in countless articles chronicling the months-long saga of declining health, perseverance, frustration, commitment, hope, and inspiration that followed. In short, someone stepped up and completely changed the game for Kevin—his college coach, Tom Walter. In December of 2010, Walter and his two children were on their way to the beach for a family Christmas when he got a call from Kevin's father saying that no one in the Jordan family was a match for Kevin. Without hesitation, Walter turned the car around and drove straight to the North Carolina donor office to get his ABO cross match test done. After several more weeks of tests, waiting, and persistent phone calls, he learned he was a match on January 28—the same day as the first official team practice for the 2011 season.
About a week later on February 7—just 12 days before the Deacons' season opener—Walter and Jordan underwent a successful transplant surgery at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta. By February 18, Walter was back in the game coaching his team as the first pitch of the season was thrown at LSU, and Jordan was on his way to recovery with a bright future ahead of him.
There's one part of their inspirational story that wasn't often mentioned in those countless articles, interviews and feature stories back then…Walter is white, and Jordan is Black. Did that matter? In many ways, no, not at all. When Walter expressed to a dear friend his intention to donate, his friend replied, "Can you do that? Isn't Kevin…Black?" Stunned, Walter replied, "Yes. My blood and his blood are the same. That's all that matters." But looking back at their story now, in the context of recent social unrest, theirs is also a powerful story about race in America. The story of a white man in a powerful position who bridged the racial divide and risked his life to save a Black man is a story that America needs to hear.
Flash forward nearly 10 years. Jordan, now a successful Wake Forest graduate, has remained close with Walter with whom he shares a very special bond. Last summer, while quarantining with his family during the Covid-19 pandemic, Jordan and the rest of the world watched as George Floyd and others were murdered and protests erupted around the country. Through the aftermath, as he continued to grapple with a myriad of emotions, he spoke to Walter often. He shared his fear, frustration, and hurt. They both talked about how helpless they felt—like they were standing on the sideline just watching—and how much they wanted to do something to help. Over the course of several conversations, an idea began to take hold. They wanted to commit themselves to getting off the sidelines and taking action that could make a real difference in the world—and the concept of Get in the Game was born.
Since then, what the two have accomplished is nothing short of astounding. In less than 90 days, they gathered support from investors and corporate partners, established an impressive board of directors, assembled an incredibly talented team of staff members, advisors and volunteers, consulted with some of the brightest minds in business and education, and brought their idea to fruition with Get in the Game, an organization whose vision is a society where all races, creeds, income levels and gender identities have equal opportunities and view the world with hope and endless possibilities. The mission of Get in the Game is "empowering students to create change" which they aim to do through educating, inspiring, and equipping a generation of young people with the tools they need to take action and make positive changes in their communities. "It's something that I've been wanting to do as long as I can remember—something like Get in the Game," Jordan explained. "I always thought I had to be an athlete to have this platform, but over the summer as Coach Walt and I talked, we kept asking ourselves, 'What can we do?' We wanted to use our story to help people, and Get in the Game is going to do that. Young people today recognize that the America they've been promised isn't the America that they see right now, but I think we're going to be able to help them make that change."
"We want our students, who we call Game Changers, to be equipped to be the people that they've always dreamed of—to be the best version of themselves," Walter said. "Who are the students? They are the 7-12th graders across our country who are more engaged, more passionate, and more motivated than any group in history. What they're going to do is change the game and create positive and permanent change in our society. When we talk about our vision, we're talking about leveling the playing field. We want these kids to have equal educational and economic opportunities. We want them to leave this program more comfortable in their own skin and more poised to make a difference in the world."
Get in the Game's inaugural season is centered around the formation of middle school and high school clubs, facilitated by a trained educator, in which students can foster meaningful conversations about sometimes difficult topics and inspire each other to be more intentional and take actions that will positively impact their communities. Through a series of multidisciplinary learning processes including discussions, exercises, reflection, and collaborative activities, Game Changers will not only learn more about themselves and what they stand for, but they will acquire foundational tools like active listening, reading for understanding, and using the power of writing and action to drive intentional change, which will empower them to become more active within their communities, striving to positively change mindsets and build a brighter future.It's important to note, however, that while there is a solid framework in place, Walter and Jordan are quick to point out that student feedback is going to be crucial in shaping the program and curriculum moving forward.
"We've worked with some of the greatest minds in education to develop our playbook for the pilot season which kicked off in mid-September, but there's much more work ahead of us," said Walter. "We can't wait to hear from our inaugural group of Game Changers about what works, what doesn't, what sessions resonated most, and what improvements they would like to see in the program. The real magic will happen as the students themselves help us shape the program and continue to evolve."
The GITG team felt strongly that the program needed to be piloted in-person, so the Covid-19 pandemic and the resulting widespread remote learning presented some challenges. However, for the pilot program, they were fortunate to partner with three private schools in Winston-Salem, High Point, and Greensboro that were conducting in-person learning: Forsyth Country Day, Westchester Country Day, and Greensboro Day School, as well as with the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy in Washington, D.C.
"It's really exciting to see it come together," said Jordan who serves as the organization's Director of Community Relations. "A couple of weeks ago, Coach Walt and I joined one of the first clubs via Zoom, and it was so great to see those kids opening up and sharing their thoughts and feelings about topics related to race. The idea seems simple, but Coach Walt and I both believe that if people would really listen and treat each other with kindness, empathy, and dignity, the world can change. So, starting with today's youth and teaching them how to Get in the Game and create the change they want to see, gives me a lot of hope for the future."
One of the concepts at the heart of the Get in the Game program is "The Timeless Nine," a philosophical framework developed by Get in the Game that is used to guide their activities. The Timeless Nine includes things like Kindness, Equity, Ownership, Listening, and Mercy.
"The Timeless Nine is a guideline for these kids to use throughout their life when they're making hard decisions and having difficult conversations," Walter explained. "For lack of a better term, it's a standard of excellence. We talk about things in the Timeless Nine like understanding the nuance between 'nice vs. kind.' Anybody can be nice…it's platitudes, it's shallow. But being kind involves empathy and understanding. It involves being able to walk in someone else's shoes. We talk about enterprise in the Timeless Nine. Enterprise is taking bold action for something that is difficult and important, so we want these students out there taking bold action, getting involved with things they care about and being intentional. We want these kids to be champions, and what champions are is resolute, unwavering in their belief of themselves and their expectations of others. We want these Game Changers to set the bar for other kids. We want them to be super intentional in word, thought and deed, and we want them to hold their peers, people in their homes, and in their communities to the same standard of excellence."
For Walter, that standard of excellence is something that takes center stage in all aspects of his life, especially in his role as baseball coach. He and his players, Jordan included, live by what they call "The Way of the D.E.A.C.S." They are "DEDICATED to attacking each day with relentless ENERGY… dedicated to living life with an ATTITUDE of excellence…dedicated to having supreme CONFIDENCE in themselves, their teammates, and their program. And above all else, they are dedicated to being SELFLESS. They always put the needs of others first."
Jordan believes his time at Wake prepared him for where he is today and the journey that lies ahead. Wake Forest's Pro Humanitate spirit along with that dedication, energy, attitude, confidence, and selflessness instilled in him during his years on the baseball team will be a guiding force as he and Walter strive to level the playing field and empower students to create change.
Walter credits the Wake Forest community for playing a significant role in bringing Get in the Game to life.
"Get in the Game wouldn't exist without the support of the Wake Forest community," Walter explained. "Wake Forest brought Kevin and I together over a decade ago. The generosity of Deacon Club members made it possible for him to come to Wake Forest on a baseball scholarship. The unwavering support of Deacon Nation encouraged us both as we went through the transplant process and recovery. There was even a group of Deacon Club members who reached out after the surgery with a desire to help Kevin's family with their mounting medical expenses.
Our players and the people involved with our program are a constant source of inspiration. One of the first people I consulted as our idea was taking hold is David Couch who is someone for whom I have immense respect and whose insights I value deeply. The concept of Get in the Game resonated deeply with him, and I was thrilled when he chose to get involved and join our Board of Directors."
"My favorite quotes are from Martin Luther King, Jr.," said Couch. "A particular favorite is, 'An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.' That quote embodies how I believe Coach Walter came to his craft of coaching, and to making his decision to donate a part of himself so that another could continue to survive, and ultimately thrive. I also believe it is this thinking that led Coach to inspire us all to Get in the Game to help boys and girls become men and women of empathy and integrity who will lead, be responsible, and change the world for good, and I'm excited to be a part of it."
Next February, Walter and Jordan will celebrate 10 years since the surgery that changed both of their lives. If all goes as planned, they will have even more to celebrate, including a successful pilot season, an expansion of the program, and the foundation from which they can empower an entire generation of young people to change the world. Oh yeah…they will also be celebrating the start of what promises to be an exciting 2021 baseball season. Think about it…what better way to mark the end of Get in the Game's first year next summer than with a trip to Omaha? Game on!
For more information on Get in the Game, please visit https://getinthegame.org.
