New Life for Old Little League Uniforms

When the Scarsdale Little League and The Double Play Foundation teamed up this spring to collect used baseball uniforms, neither organization was sure how many Scarsdale Little Leaguers would be willing to part with their old uniforms. Three months - and more than 700 jerseys - later, the project has been a home run.

The collection drive was the brainchild of Ben Ulene, who started The Double Play Foundation as an 8th grader at Scarsdale Middle School. "While cleaning my closet, I came across old baseball uniforms that I was never going to wear again," said Ulene. "Rather than throwing them out, I decided to collect more uniforms so I could outfit whole teams of kids in the Dominican Republic."

Scarsdale Little League publicized the effort with e-mail blasts to players and parents, and several coaches collected uniforms - and donated their own jerseys and caps - at the end of the season. In addition, Heathcote Elementary School, Scarsdale Middle School, the Scarsdale Library and Planit Sports provided homes for Ulene's collection boxes.

According to Ulene, "We are busy planning our first trip down to the Dominican Republic. The generosity of Scarsdale Little Leaguers was incredible, and I'm excited to be able to provide so many kids there with 'big league' uniforms."

Old uniforms - shirts, pants, hats, socks and belts - can be contributed to The Double Play Foundation by dropping them off at Planit Sports in the Golden Horseshoe Shopping Center.