ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Trop never looked so good.

Forget angels in the outfield. There were tables. Lots of them with elegant place settings. There was food, several courses of it. 

It was a night of celebrating and a night of honoring.


What You Need To Know


Former Tampa Bay Ray Denard Span and his wife Anne played hosts for the evening. And they played the role of gifters. 

Because while most people were there to support the Denard Span Foundation, there were three families who thought they were to enjoy dinner at a baseball park. 

Elena Polanco and her children were one of those families. But then Denard announced her name and everything changed.

All three families got the surprise of their lives when Denard gifted them brand new cars.

“Just an unbelievable feeling and just grateful that I’m in a position to be able to do this,” Denard said.

Denard has a soft spot in his heart for single moms. He was raised by one. And this is one way he honors his mother by helping out others.

“Oh my gosh, it’s a dream come true,” Polanco said. “It’s a dream come true. I prayed to God but I couldn’t believe that this just happened to me, to my family.”

“Tampa’s so spread out so transportation is huge,” Denard said. “A lot of these single parent families, they’ve got to get to work, they’ve got to get their kids to school and to their extracurricular activities. So it’s super important.”

You don’t have to tell Polanco that. This single mother of three has her hands full getting her kids ready for school every morning. Not having regular transportation added to the difficulty. 

Tampa native and former MLB player Denard Span provided new vehicles for three single moms last week through his foundation. (Spectrum News image)

Then Denard came into her life. And she found herself driving a brand new car for the very first time.

“It warms my heart whenever I see the reaction on these families faces,” he said. “And it just confirms that what we’re doing is God’s work.”

It’s also honorable work. You needn’t look further than Wanda Wilson for Denard’s why. She raised him as a single mom and it shaped every thing he has done in his life, including his 11 years of playing professional baseball and cultivating his foundation.

“When I was a kid, I didn’t realize what she was doing, both playing mom and dad and making sure we were good and just keeping tabs on us,” he said. “There’s no way I’d be able to raise my kids by myself.”

Being a single parent can be a lonely journey. Denard’s message to those he helps out, you’re not alone. 

“Our foundation, we definitely care,” Denard said. “We’re a small foundation but we are little by little growing. My goal is to continue to grow more and give more blessings out like this.”