One of the biggest feedback items for our league is the quality of the fields. We've all noticed, we've all complained. We've slowly been chipping away to improve them incrementally and just attempt to keep up maintenance - that alone takes a lot of work. But the reality is that we have a lot of deferred repairs. Because we're a fully volunteer organization, any big capital improvements take a mix of money and volunteer time.
Last year a couple of generous donations came through from an anonymous donor. And our relationship with Dante's Boys Foundation matched those donations, adding $10k to the coffers. Our league operates on a responsibly frugal budget, so donations like this can free up money for improvements, instead of just treading water.
The second piece of this is having someone dig into the project and physically make it happen, as a volunteer, in their spare time. Justin Quinton, like the rest of us, saw a marginally playable field and did something about it. Staring with some relationship building and a lot of sweat equity, Justin put into action what the rest of us have only put into words.
After months of preparation, on a late October weekend a crew of GVLL kids and families came out to lay new sod on Mary Silviera Field 1, the 'gopher condo!" MS1. Thank you for all the GVLL folks who were willing to come out and get your hands dirty and put their back into it!
Field leveling, gopher wire and the rehabilitation of existing residents, a new backstop and countless little details are still getting knocked off the punch list. You'll notice a new scoreboard next.
We're looking for more help spreading field mix, so gather your wheelbarrows and shovels - we'll be working at Mary Silviera on Saturday, November 11th at 8:30am. Get your kid out there to help build the field he plays on.
It's great to see this tangible difference for something that will affect playability and actual game enjoyment. This can just be the beginning of transforming our facilities from playable to something where we, and our kids, are proud to have them play.
Please consider donating when opportunities arise and reach out to others who may be interest in contributing toward the goal of providing the best little league baseball experience for our players and families.
Questions about fundraising can be directed to Justin Quinton at [email protected].
This is our field folks! Can't wait to hit some true ground balls to our kids on this!
With more work still to be done to level the field, we needed to raise the first base side around 9 inches. Come on our on Saturday, November 11th!
