Our inner city baseball league honors Jackie Robinson

Location
Kansas
Name
Mel
Last night was another successful start of a season for a bunch of inner-city boys and girls. It is our 8th Season and we have grown from 2 barely acceptable baseball fields to those two being renovated and a brand new turf field stadium with lights and a scoreboard for the little players. In 8 years, we have put up safe fenced dugouts, new seating for the parents and fans on all fields, and new fencing to protect the fields from vandalizing. We have erected new indoor bathrooms and a fully used concession stand. We also have a new building across the street from the fields which is our pride and joy. We have an after-school and off-season learning center with enough computers and mentors lined up to give the kids a break in their schooling by offering to tutor the kids.
My wife and I have been with this program from day one. We volunteer to photograph as many games as possible to let the kids see themselves and share with others. My wife is also on the education committee with other former educators to get the plans to staff the learning center. She was also a director for the league for a year. League 42 is named after Jackie Robinson's number on his uniform. Some might not know that Jackie was the first black to integrate Major League Baseball. We have a large bronze statue of Jackie in a pavilion between two of the fields.
The park where all this magic occurs was traditionally a park that had deteriorated since it was in the inner city. We have resurrected the park and a new indoor gymnasium for the community with a swimming pool is to be upgraded along with a 4th field added.
It is indeed a moment of pride when all the kids, boys and girls, arrive for the first game of the season fresh in their uniforms that we give them, with new gloves that we give them and in their color-matched hats, we also give them. The cost to the player and family is $30.00 and that covers all the kids in one family aged 4-14. The community and donors pay for all this and will also cover the learning center.
Although the park is in a somewhat gang area, no disrespect nor vandalizing has occurred and it has become a source of pride to the community and to our city. Other cities have been visiting and we have had celebrities such as Garth Brooks, Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench, Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson, and the protection by our local police officers who have made the area a place where diverse people can meet and get to know one another. Our Facebook page is just "League 42" and 99% of the pictures on the page have been taken by my wife and me. It makes my very old heart young again with the young ones running the wrong way, missing a ball, and to know that we value sportsmanship over winning and the pressure is off the kids. We do not allow interference with the referees by the parents nor coaching from the sidelines.
As I said, it started again last night, and here are some of the faces of our League. The last one is of my co-photographer wife along the fence waiting for something to happen.


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