Texas is reeling from historic flooding. Torrential rains and water have flooded every small street, sweeping away the homes and dreams of thousands. For Matt Carpenter, this is his “second home” – his wife’s hometown and the place his family returns to every summer. And today, he’s back… not for a vacation, but to… fight for everyone.
Carpenter and his 6-year-old son, Jackson, arrived early in the morning at a makeshift relief center in suburban Houston. Instead of their usual soccer jerseys, the father and son wore life jackets, waterproof clothing, gloves and bags of supplies.
“I want to help my grandmother and my neighbor get better. I heard from my mom that some adults didn’t have time to get out of their houses,” Jackson said as he helped his father load each can of cooking oil and drinking water into a relief truck.
Locals witnessed the touching scene: the father and son were exhausted but still continued to arrange each set of children’s clothes, each warm blanket for the families who lost their homes. Carpenter whispered in Jackson’s ear:
“You are doing good, just like you saw in the story we read last night.”
In addition to directly providing relief, Carpenter also announced a personal donation of $750,000, intended to build temporary housing and buy books for affected Texas children. He said:
“I understand that floodwaters can take away houses, but they cannot take away the memories and aspirations of children. We have to help them keep that.”
Even every time they had a light lunch with Jackson, Carpenter told his son about the journey from Galveston to Busch Field – a story of perseverance and overcoming difficulties, so that he knew that “no matter how deep the water is, faith can still help us overcome.”
The image of Carpenter and his son received enthusiastic support from the media and online community with the hashtag:
🔹 #CarpenterForTexas
🔹 #HoustonStrong
🔹 #LittleHelperBigHeart
Carpenter’s Cardinals teammates – Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt – shared and called on fans to join in the donation. Houston fans organized “Chicago Baseball Night in Houston,” raising funds to sponsor additional temporary housing for affected families.
In the days when water flooded the streets and people seemed hopeless, Matt Carpenter and his young son provided a memorable image: not of a lone hero, but of a family – where love becomes the greatest strength.
“Mommy said ‘home’ is where the family is,” Jackson said as he stood next to the relief supplies. And Carpenter smiled, looking into his son’s eyes: “You see that?”