hi guys:

i'm wondering if you've got some old baseball equipment you'd care to donate to some poor kids in latin america?

if so, the league is helping to sponsor a collection.

the principal date for the donation is father's day, sunday, june 21st. we'll be doing the collection at the father-son games at new scotland - but i'm also listing below other dates and locations before the 21st that might be more convenient for you.

some of you may recall that three years ago many guys in the 25, 35 and 45 leagues donated used baseball equipment - everything from bats, gloves, shoes, to catchers' gear and even bases - to an organization called Roberto's Kids, which was created by an Oneonta couple, Steve and Lisa Pindar. we donated about 750 pounds of equipment at our all-star game at new scotland.

the Pindars, who have been doing mission work and providing humanitarian aid in the Dominican Republic since 1997, saw firsthand the need for helping poor kids get decent equipment - in much of latin america, cardboard cereal boxes serve as gloves, sticks as bats and wrapped bits of cloth and twine as balls - and so they created Roberto's Kids in memory of Roberto Clemente, the late Hall of Famer from Puerto Rico.

in a recent email, steve, a former Oneonta alderman, said that he and his wife would be happy to return to albany and collect equipment again if we had any to give.

In the same note, he wrote the following:

"We continue to grow. We are now operating in 30 States and 3 Provinces in Canada. Last Spring we sent our largest shipment yet - 2 full sea containers (20 tons - over 30,000 pieces of equipment) to the Dominican Republic where it was distributed to thousands of disadvantaged children all over the country.

"Last November, Lisa and I were honored to meet with the Clemente Family. They were in Cooperstown for the unveiling of a new statue of Roberto at the Baseball HOF. They asked to meet with us. They were extremely kind and generous with their sentiments about Roberto's Kids. As I left, Vera, Roberto's widow, hugged me and said that Roberto would be very proud of what we're doing. That moment is still with me."

Steve and Lisa expect they'll be at the father-son game sometime between 1:30 and 2 pm on the 21st. We'll be taking photos of the Pindars and the donations - no doubt with some of the fathers and sons in the image - and emailing them with a little story to hardball magazine.

the bonus is if you come for the donation, you can also get your baseball fix, catching what will be the only baseball played on that weekend, the father-son game(s).

OTHER DROP-OFFS:

if you can't make it on the 21st, then i'd be happy to take donations at my games. i play for three teams in three divisions - shaskys (35), the vets (45) and the Americans (55) - so feel free to bring equipment to me before or during the following games. (you might want to check the league website before you drive off, just to make sure the game is still on at the listed locations):

MON. 6/8 - Shaskys-Braves, Bob Moore Stadium, Scotia (8:15 game)
TUE. 6/9 - Americans- Hawks New Scotland (6 pm)
WED. 6/10 - Shaskys-Mets , Burnt Hills H.S. (6 pm)
SUN. 6/14 - Vets-Yankees, Voorheesville Satellite Field (2:30 pm)
MON. 6/15 - Shaskys-Blue Jays, Bob Moore Stadium (5:45 pm)

i'm easy to recognize - i'm the white beard with no. 44 on the jersey.

let me thank you all in advance. more than once the members in this league have impressed me with their generosity. john reel, kevin jackson, don wixon and john corrigan have been really helpful getting this off the ground.

if you have questions, feel free to email me at mhart2@nycap.rr.com.

-mike









-- Edited by mhart on Monday 8th of June 2009 02:37:39 AM

-- Edited by mhart on Tuesday 9th of June 2009 01:51:54 AM