Baseball Tomorrow Fund announces fourth quarter 2012 grant awards
Hurricane Sandy-affected Bayonne Little League to receive $75,000 toward equipment expenses and for repairs to fields damaged by the storm<br><br>Local league in France to receive $150,000 grant to construct an indoor facility dedicated to baseball and softball
The Baseball Tomorrow Fund (BTF) awarded more than $450,000 in grants in the fourth quarter of 2012 to nine community organizations, including the Hurricane Sandy-Stricken Bayonne Little League in New Jersey and the Ligue de Baseball Softball de Haute Normandie in Rouen, France. The grants will impact more than 2000 youth players and will support their baseball and softball programs through the funding of equipment and uniform purchases as well as field renovation projects.
In October 2012, Hurricane Sandy flooded the Bayonne Little League’s complex, causing substantial damage to all four fields, the concession stands, batting cages and storage units, resulting in the loss of all equipment, uniforms and infield material. In order to assist with the League’s recovery, BTF awarded the League $75,000 to repair the damaged fields and replace the lost equipment, uniforms and materials. In addition, BTF awarded the Ligue de Baseball Softball de Haute Normandie, one of the 22 regional associations of the French Baseball Federation, $150,000 to fund the construction of covered batting cages in Rouen to help support the growth of baseball and softball in the region. The facilities will serve the Rouen Baseball 76 team, the national baseball academy, local schools and will be the site for after school clinics, impacting nearly 700 youth players.
Additional organizations in the United States that are recipients of the fourth quarter grants include Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington (Washington D.C.); Burg Baseball, Inc. (St. Petersburg, Florida); Fort Smith Boys & Girls Club (Fort Smith, Arkansas); Kings Canyon Unified School District (Reedley, California); Phillip O. Berry Academy of Technology (Charlotte, North Carolina); The For the City Network dba RBI Austin (Austin, Texas); and YMCA of San Diego County - Copley Family YMCA (San Diego, California).
“The Baseball Tomorrow Fund is pleased to support such a diverse group of communities that provide quality youth baseball and softball programs in the United States and abroad,” said Cathy Bradley, Executive Director of the Baseball Tomorrow Fund. “From helping a community recover from Hurricane Sandy to creating a program that will introduce new players to the game in San Diego, we believe these grants fit our mission perfectly. We thank Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association for their continued commitment to the Baseball Tomorrow Fund.”
The Baseball Tomorrow Fund (BTF) is a joint initiative between the Major League Baseball Players Association and Major League Baseball designed to promote the growth of youth baseball and softball throughout the world by awarding grants to support field renovation and construction projects, equipment and uniform purchases, coaches training material and other selected program expenses.
Since its formation by the MLBPA and MLB in 1999, BTF has awarded approximately 665 grants totaling more than $23 million to non-profit and tax-exempt organizations in the U.S., Canada, Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe, Africa and Asia. More than 325,000 youth players have benefited from programs and facilities supported by the fund. BTF also facilitates league-wide initiatives including the collection and distribution of new and gently used equipment to organizations in need as well as field maintenance education clinics. For more information, visit baseballtomorrowfund.com and follow BTF on Facebook, Twitter and MLBlogs.