New Wayland Dugouts Will Honor Girl, 10, Who Died In September

WAYLAND, MA — A Wayland nonprofit that builds in sports facilities for children has cleared a key hurdle toward building new dugouts at Cochituate Field.

The select board on April 24 voted to set up a gift fund to collect donations from the Eliza Juliet Norton Foundation for the dugout project. The foundation plans to build four new dugouts at Cochituate Field along West Plain Road.

With a gift fund set up for the project, the town can segregate donations for the project until enough money is raised to start construction. The foundation is trying to raise around $400,000 for the first phase of the project, which includes the dugouts and educational programming.

The EJN Foundation was established in memory of Eliza Juliet Norton, who died in September at age 10. Norton was an athlete, an especially loved to play hockey. The nonprofit held a hockey tournament in Bedford Saturday to raise money.

"The Eliza Juliet Norton Foundation aims to continue Eliza's legacy by providing children with increased access to and enhanced experiences in athletics and beyond with a focus on teamwork, good sportsmanship and community building," the nonprofit says.

The foundation will have a booth set up at the opening day for little league on Saturday beginning at 10 a.m. at Cochituate Field.

"This is an important project for our family, the EJN Foundation and the broader Wayland community and falls right in line with the goals of our Foundation. Through this project, Eliza’s impact will continue to be felt in our local community in a space where she thrived — Cochituate Field. We look forward to working collaboratively with the town as this project advances," foundation co-chair Mark Norton said in a news release.

For more information about the EJN foundation, email elizajnortonfoundation@gmail.com.