Charity

Imagine a youth baseball field on a sunny spring day.  There is a crowd of cheering parents in the stands.  Each young baseball player confidently takes his or her position at home base, waiting to hear the “thwack” of bat against ball.  Now picture that baseball field with a cushioned rubberized turf, flat bases and wheelchair-accessible dugouts.  At a Miracle League Baseball Field, children and young adults experience the joy of America’s favorite pastime on a barrier-free, completely accessible field.  For children with physical or developmental disabilities, this specialized field means the difference between watching from the stands and actually playing baseball.  In Augusta, this field is now just a dream, but The Family Y would like to make it a reality in the coming year.           

The Family Y has been named as partner with the National Miracle League Association to build one of the specially-adapted baseball fields in Augusta.  The vision is to make the game of baseball within reach of EVERY child, regardless of their abilities.  The new Miracle League baseball field will be built adjacent to The Family Y’s existing youth sports complex, located on leased property behind the Wilson Family Y on Wheeler Road.

“When we were approached by a community leader about the Miracle League concept, we knew that this program was a perfect fit for The Family Y,” says Danny McConnell, President and CEO of The Family Y.  “With a long history in both youth baseball and programs for the disabled, we are proud to partner with the Miracle League organization to make baseball accessible to every child.”

The Family Y is celebrating its 150th Anniversary this year and the new baseball field will be the legacy of the year-long celebration.  Proceeds from anniversary events will support the Miracle League project. The culmination of the celebratory year will be the October 12th Miracle Concert, with a performance by Augusta-native Amy Grant while concertgoers attempt to break the Guinness Record for largest family picnic.  Tickets for this unique event will be on sale August 1.

The initial fundraising effort for the Augusta Miracle League Field is through the construction of the Sesquicentennial Walk of Fame, a granite walkway leading to the baseball field to provide permanent recognition of those who donate to the effort.  In honor of the Y’s anniversary, only 150 engraved stepping stones will be sold.  For more information about the Walk of Fame, call Danny McConnell at 706-922-9601.  A portion of Dream Home ticket sales will benefit the Miracle League fundraising effort.

Georgian children were the first to benefit from a Miracle League field, since the first field opened for play in spring 2000 in Conyers, GA, just outside of Atlanta.  Presently, there are 200 Miracle League Organizations across the country, including one in Puerto Rico, with 80 completed rubberized fields and 100 fields under construction.  The Miracle League is proud to serve over 80,000 children and young adults with disabilities. 

The closest fields to Augusta are in Conyers, GA and near Greenville, SC.  The latest census figures for Georgia reveal that 8.2 percent of the population ages 5 to 20- 158,000 boys and girls, young men and young women- are classified as having a disability.

“We envision our Miracle League Field as a resource for disabled children from around the region,” says McConnell.  “More than 200 disabled children from the Augusta area turn each year to Y’s Adapted Aquatics program for therapeutic and instructional one-on-one time in the water with specially trained instructors.  These children represent just a small portion of potential players for our Miracle League field.”

The cost to build the Miracle League Field is $225,000, with an overall construction budget of approximately $1 million for additional amenities such as parking, accessible restrooms and lighting.  One of the greatest expenses of the project is the special rubberized turf that covers the field, providing a safe and flat surface for children with mobility limitations.

The Family Y is the communities’ largest human services agency, providing services to more than 36,000 members and 40,000 program participants each year at nine CSRA locations.  The community turns to The Family Y for childcare, after-school care, youth and adult sports, day camps, aquatics instruction and exercise, group and individual fitness, teen and senior adult programs, and family recreation. Financial assistance is available for all Family Y programs. 

For more information about the Miracle League Field or other Family Y programs, please call Millie Schumacher at 706-922-9606. For more information about The Family Y or the Miracle League project, logon at www.thefamilyy.org.