The employees of the DeGol Organization have announced that the Miracle League of Blair County is a recipient of funding from their charitable efforts – and they have issued a challenge to other companies and/or employee groups to join the effort to make this “field of dreams” a reality.
The goal of the Miracle League of Blair County, a project of the Kiwanis Club of Eldorado, is to bring recreational baseball to mentally and physically disabled children by building a baseball field that will allow children who normally wouldn’t be able to play baseball to swing a bat, hit a homerun and round the bases.
The $2,000 donation from the DeGol employees was made possible through fund raising activities coordinated by the employees of the DeGol Organization headquarters and supported by workers at the various DeGol Organization sites throughout Central Pennsylvania.
Miracle League President Joe Reed, who received the contribution from DeGol employee Ryan Burgan, said, “This is a very generous donation to our project and we know it represents a lot of hard work on the part of the DeGol employees.
“We are pleased to receive their support and also appreciate the challenge they have issued to other groups to help make the Miracle League field a reality.”
In announcing the donation to the Miracle League, Project Coordinator Carol Benedict of the DeGol group, wrote, “We look forward to the day when we can join you in celebrating the inaugural game at the facility and see the joy that activities such as the Miracle League brings…”
Reed added, “This is a dream we share with this generous group as we all look forward to the day when ‘Play ball’ is heard at the field.”
Plans call for the Miracle League Field to be built adjacent to the Eldorado Kiwanis Club’s Teener League field in the 6100 block of California Avenue and , even though it will be located in Altoona, children from throughout Central Pennsylvania will be invited to join Miracle League teams.
Reed noted that, at other Miracle League fields, families “sometimes travel for two or three hours so their children can play baseball. Any child or adult from anywhere can participate.”
With guarded optimism, Reed said that it is hoped that the league will be “in full swing in the summer of 2006. The success of our fund raising efforts will play a major role in the opening. That’s why donations such as this one from the DeGol employees are so very important to our effort.”
