Vinny Haire, Zander Pedersen, and James Buchanan

Mandy Mulligan is always on guard. Her daughter, Olivia Chavez, has Down syndrome. Olivia enjoys playing in the park, especially during baseball practice for her brother, Elijah, so Mandy keeps one eye on practice and the other on Olivia.

One day early this spring, Mandy was unwittingly on the lookout for kindness. Zander Pedersen, Vinny Haire and James Buchanan also were at the park for their first Little League practice of the season, when they spotted Olivia.

“My initial thought was that I should go get her because I didn’t know if she would bug them or if they’d be nice,” Mandy says. “But I decided to let it play out.” Olivia threw her hands up, and the boys immediately grabbed them and formed a circle.

“She might not be able to talk, or even to play with us, but I think what makes her special is that she’s a great person inside,” Vinny says.

Without Olivia saying so, the boys seemed to know that she wanted to play. She started walking in a circle, then fell down. They followed suit, to her delight.

“It’s funny because I’ve never played Ring around the Rosie with her,” Mandy says. “They put down the need to be cool and just played with her.”

Mandy didn’t know the trio but wanted to find a way to let their parents know “how amazing these boys are.” So she grabbed her phone and took a video of a portion of the 10-minute, impromptu play date. She posted it on a local Facebook page in the hopes of putting names to faces.

Instead, Mandy said, the post “went nuts,” and perhaps most amazingly, “all the comments were positive.” The reaction was so overwhelming that Mandy reached out to a local TV station in Arizona, which ran a story that drew national attention.

“It was such a kind and beautiful thing to me as her mother, but I didn’t realize how impactful it would be to strangers,” she says, “Maybe it’s the innocence of childhood and the inclusion of people who don’t always belong. Maybe it’s because boys at this age aren’t always known for kindness. Maybe it’s just the simple beauty of inclusion.”

Perhaps best of all, the story didn’t end with one act of kindness. After seeing the videos, the local Little League association asked Olivia to throw out the first pitch at the season opener. Elijah stepped up in a big way, working with his little sister to teach her how to pitch.

“I was a little worried that when the time came, she might be a little intimidated,” Mandy says, “But she really hammed it up and was great. Her brother was a big part of that.” Not only did she throw it once, she threw it twice and jumped up and down when people cheered for her.

And the families’ bonds have grown. The boys played with Olivia at another game, and she has attended their games as a fan. Since the season ended, the families have dined together and were scheduled to be guests of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

“It’s really nice to have a circle,” says Mandy, who moved from North Carolina to Arizona in December 2023. “The boys’ parents have said, ‘You can’t get rid of us. You’re family.’ I guess it’s not surprising that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”