Berkeley Little League 'Big Brothers' Take Care Of Player In Need

A Letter to the Editor From Jon Bentivegna, President of the Berkeley Little League

Since its inception in the early 1970's, Berkeley Little League has never turned a child away. As long as a true hardship could be verified, any child who wanted to play was welcomed and the fees were adjusted, waived and at times even board members chipped in to cover the cost.

In 2016, Berkeley Little League was gifted a scholarship fund in memory of Anthony Marchese, the pop of one of their own players. Several deserving players have already been assisted through the scholarship fund, with several scholarships currently being awarded for the 2018 spring season.

Last year, Berkeley Little League experienced a bit of a movement by our teen players. Inspiring each other, it suddenly became cool to give back and volunteer. All over the beautiful Moorage complex on any given day, you could find teenage players coaching a Tee Ball team, being a buddy for a player in the Challenger Division, or helping to maintain the fields.

A league that was built upon and thrives on volunteerism enjoyed this new phenomenon--and delighted in the youth of the league's dedication to not only the sport, but the community and to each other.

And if you thought that Berkeley would stop there, think again.

When a few of our teen volunteers found out that one of our scholarship applicants not only needed fees covered, but due to circumstances as a result of family violence, he had left behind all of his treasured baseball gear, they knew what needed to be done.

With a grant from the scholarship fund, they took the player on a dream shopping spree. Helmet, glove, bat, cleats, pants, jersey, and bag--all chosen by this young player with help from his new "baseball big brothers." Then they took him out to lunch, where the topic of conversation was, of course, all things baseball.

And before a single pitch is thrown in this 2018 spring season, Berkeley Little League just hit one heck of a dinger.

To donate to the Berkeley Little League Scholarship Fund: http://www.berkeleylittleleague.org/page/show/3268028-scholarship-fund

Photo: Courtesy of Shutterstock