|
Burgers & Baseball
Councilwoman Cecelia M. Adams, PhD, Councilman Peter Ujvagi
and Demetria M. Simpson, president & CEO of LMHA are working
together to bring T-Ball to the youth of Toledo.
The inspiration came from a plea for help from Willie
Copeland. He was struggling to get city-wide Little League
Baseball started and asked for help. Since then, the
principals have been able to organize a local Little League
Association that bears his name and is also a chartered
affiliate of Little League International, Incorporated. This
initiative fills a void in baseball that has lasted for over
30 years when city-wide athletics were cut from the City of
Toledo's budget. The children hurt most by this abandonment
were those whose parents do not have access to other
organized leagues in the area or private leagues.
So, after three years of planning and collaborating with
Toledo Public Schools and other key organizations, the
partnership with the Lucas Metropolitan Housing Authority (LMHA)
emerged as the most viable starting point. Thanks to the
cooperation of Simpson and her team, T-Ball teams will start
in spring, 2019. This way, the children will learn the
basics first and gradually progress through the official
age-appropriate Little League Baseball levels. In due time
and thinking big, we hope to have players capable of playing
in the Little League Baseball World Series.
Adams said, “We are starting on LMHA grounds because there
is a high concentration of four-to-seven year olds there.
However, all children in that age group in the City of
Toledo (all 88 square miles) including Washington Local are
welcome. No four-to-seven year old within those boundaries
will be turned away. Over time, we plan to have T-Ball teams
at every TPS elementary school. Any age-appropriate child is
welcome, no matter where they attend school - TPS, charter,
private, parochial or a community school.”
Burgers & Baseball will be held at the Weiler Homes, Fassett
Street, on Saturday, September 22 from noon – 2:00 pm. Along
with T-Ball demonstrations, there will be fingerprinting,
face painting and other activities happening.
|
