WAUKESHA, Wis. — If you visit the memorial for the Waukesha Christmas parade victims, you’ll see that eight-year-old Jackson Sparks, the youngest to die from the incident, loved baseball. 

What You Need To Know

  • Jackson Sparks, 8, was the youngest to die in the Waukesha Christmas Parade tragedy
  • Sparks loved baseball, and played for the Waukesha Blazers
  • A call to action on social media encourages everyone to wear a baseball jersey on Friday, and post online using #JerseysForJackson or #Jerseys4Jackson
  • Another post encourages people to leave baseball bats on their front porch, using the hashtag #BatsOutForBlazers

It’s one of the reasons why his mom encouraged kids to wear a baseball jersey to the funeral home. 

Todd Ahrens — who moved to Dallas, Texas, from Wisconsin eight years ago —wanted to to take that a step further.  

“I’m in Texas. I can’t bring a hot meal across the street to the family, I can’t offer to help in any other way,” Ahrens said. "What can I do?”

So, he posted on Facebook, "#JerseysForJackson," and told everyone to wear a baseball jersey on Friday to support the Sparks family. 

His post has been seen by nearly 10,000 people as of Wednesday night. 

“I got a text this morning [Wednesday] at about 9 a.m. saying it had hit Toronto, Canada,” Ahrens said.

Now it has even caught the attention of Christian Yelich and Kolten Wong of the Milwaukee Brewers, and they’re encouraging more people to wear a baseball jersey on Friday. 

So is the Waukesha School District. 

“It tears me up, but it warms my heart,” Ahrens said. "But, it just lets the country know that one guy sitting at a breakfast table with an idea to help…we can all help."

It’s not the only social media call to action that has picked up steam in support of the Sparks family. 

“We are putting bats out on our front door to honor the Sparks family in memory of Jackson Sparks, as well as to support the Waukesha Blazers baseball community,” said Stef Wade. 

Wade, a mom of three boys, said two of them play baseball with the Elmbrook Braves Little League, which is a regular opponent of the Blazers, the team Sparks played for.

“We felt that baseball community supporting baseball community makes sense,” Wade said. 

Her hashtag on social media, #BatsOutForBlazers, is also getting national attention, with people far and wide putting a baseball bat on their front porch in solidarity. 

“I think this is really showing kids and not just kids but players and coaches and parents what sportsmanship really means,” Wade said.

Gov. Tony Evers is also showing support for Sparks. Flags across the state are being flown at half-staff Thursday in his honor.