On the heels of a year in which athletes all across the country united in elevating their voices against social injustice and for the greater good, Cardinals starter Jack Flaherty is continuing to build off the groundwork laid down in 2020.

On Thursday, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater St. Louis announced that they received a surprise donation of boxes filled with thousands of books.

They came from Flaherty, and they were purchased from EyeSeeMe, a Black-owned and African American children's bookstore in University City that works to ¡°promote literacy and a love for reading among low income households,¡± per its website.

¡°The city of St. Louis has embraced me from the beginning of my time as a professional baseball player,¡± Flaherty said in a statement. ¡°We couldn¡¯t think of a better way to give directly back to the community by supporting a local Black-owned business with the EyeSeeMe Bookstore and simultaneously donating them all to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater St. Louis.

¡°I hope these stories and adventures will inspire the next generation, as reading held such an important part of my development. I am excited to work with both organizations in the future, and it¡¯s an honor to support them all today.¡±

As Flaherty said, he was an avid reader growing up himself. Included among the donation were some of his childhood favorites, such as the Magic Tree House series and Mike Lupica¡¯s sports novels.

It¡¯s not nearly the first time this year that Flaherty has gotten involved in the St. Louis community, nor with the local Boys & Girls Clubs specifically. On March 30, in conjunction with a partnership with BodyArmor sports drink, Flaherty made a $5,000 donation to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater St. Louis, which will be used to support health and fitness programs at the clubs, on top of donating masks and other PPE to the clubs earlier in the pandemic.

Flaherty¡¯s charitable efforts have come in many forms. And they¡¯ve continued his trend of speaking out for causes he believes in -- a route he doesn¡¯t plan to deter from.

¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s something that¡¯s ever going to go away,¡± Flaherty said at the outset of Spring Training. ¡°Saw it this past year with people speaking out and getting together, and being able to come together in things they believe in and want to push forward, whether in terms of racial injustice or just equal opportunity for people. ¡­ I'm hoping that you can kind of see the same thing going forward with athletes across all platforms.¡±