New Life for Old Little League Uniforms
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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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.
AFYA To Host Fundraiser at Rye Playland
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The AFYA Foundation will host a family day at Rye Playland on Sunday September 12 from noon until 3 pm., rain or shine
The event will help AFYA to raise the funds needed to collect and ship supplies to Haiti and African Nations. AFYA has played an instrumental role in Haiti since the earthquake, by training Haitians to become rehab techs and adaptive builders of products for the thousands of people who were disabled by the earthquake. Every six weeks, a team from AFYA goes to Haiti to continue training Haitians to be the care providers for thousands of disabled people living in IDP camps.
At the event, AFYA will be collecting gently used sports equipment (jump rope, kick balls, soccer balls, kids sneakers, cleats, socks, and jerseys, etc.) to provide some much needed recreation and distraction for children whose parents are receiving care in AFYA’s physical therapy centers. Some families travel long distances to the care centers, and the staff watches over the children during their stay. Toys will be delivered to the children living in tents with their families in Haiti.
Tickets begin at $50 and include unlimited rides, miniature golf, and lunch. For tickets go to afyafoundation.org or contact Joy Avidan at 914-761-4978 or email her at ajsrj@aol.com
Keep Our Stormwater Clean
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Did you know that anything dumped into a storm drain in our area flows directly into the Bronx River, area lakes, ponds, wetlands and streams? Ultimately untreated debris, chemicals, and animal waste ends up in the water we use for drinking swimming and fishing.
That’s why the Village of Scarsdale and the Lions Club joined forces on Saturday July 24 to mark catch basins or storm drains with the circle marker you see here. The group spent the day marking catch basis in Fox Meadow and Greenacres and estimated that they covered 230 basins.
Assemblywoman Amy Paulin joined the effort, and said, “Community service is a bedrock of this community. The Annie Sullivan Lions Club is a relatively new service organization that is looking to build upon this spirit of giving back and I was pleased to join them in this endeavor.
They plan to assemble again on August 16th to continue their work, and if you are interested in helping, please contact John D. Goodwin at the Village Manager’s Office at jgoodwin@scarsdale.com, or call him at 722-1110.
But even if you don’t volunteer to mark the drains, you can help by stopping the flow of waste into our storm drain system. If you have a pet, clean up after them by using a plastic bag, securing the bag tightly and placing it in a garbage can.
Pediatric Cancer Foundation Annual Luncheon
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The Pediatric Cancer Foundation will hold their 40th annual luncheon on Thursday September 30 at the Ritz Carlton in White Plains. The event will include a silent and Chinese Auction, address from keynote speaker Amanda Luiso and a fashion show from The Look of Rye Brook.
The lunch is chaired by Stefanie Bartell-Zednik, Evette Guerzon, Dana Hokin, Jackie Kabot, Tabatha Marraccini, Wendy Schimel, and Suellen Singer. In their words, “we are thrilled to welcome speaker Amanda Luiso and boutique owner, Lisa Taubes to our annual luncheon. Both women deserve a standing ovation for their heartfelt community involvement and commitment to helping us in our mission to hold the hand of a child.”
Pediatric Cancer Foundation (PCF) is a non-profit charity whose mission is to find a cure for childhood cancer. They raise money for research, treatment, state of the art equipment and instruments and parent and patient care and support world renowned doctors at five leading tri-state hospitals including: Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital at Columbia University Medical Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, The Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children’s Medical Center of New York, The Hassenfeld Children’s Center at NYU Medical Center, and Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital at Westchester Medical Center.
To find out more about Pediatric Cancer Foundation and register for the luncheon, visit www.pcfweb.org
Hitchcock Youth Do Mission Work
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From Scotland to Texas, from Haiti to Maryland, the youth group at Hitchcock Presbyterian Church has travelled across the country and the globe. This year, from June 27 to July 2, eleven youths, three youth leaders, and the pastor of Hitchcock Church travelled to Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania to do mission work. While in Mechanicsburg, the group worked with two local charities: Mission Central and Project SHARE.
Instead of staying at a hotel or paying for living arrangements, The Mechanicsburg Presbyterian Church offered the group housing in one of the homes it owns. For the duration of the trip, the fifteen-member group lived in the almost fully furnished home. The girls slept on one air mattress in one bedroom while the boys slept in the basement. Each day, the group woke up at 7:30 am, got dressed, made breakfast, packed lunch, and was ready to leave the house and drive to work by 9:00 am.
On Monday July 28, the first day of work, the youth group arrived at Mission Central, a warehouse that supplies charities and mission groups with donated goods. Upon arriving, the group was presented with several Gaylord’s (pallet size box used for storage and shipping) and given the task to sort, package, and label the supplies. While some people worked on sorting and packaging, others focused their attention on preparing flood buckets, kits that are used for disaster relief. Except for an hour-long lunch break, the group worked nonstop-from nine in the morning until three in the afternoon. After the day was over, the group travelled back and spent the rest of the day bonding by cooking dinner and playing recreational games.
On day two, the group completed the work they had started and moved on to preparing friendship kits for the homeless and sorting through cards for Mission Central to sell in its store. Once their work was complete, they went to a home that houses people with developmental disabilities. The group grilled dinner and socialized with the residents of the home. Once everyone had eaten their fill of hamburgers and hotdogs, everyone moved inside and the residents of the home gave the youth group a tour. A few hours were spent playing bingo and Wii until 8:30 arrived and it was time for the residents to prepare for bed.
On the third day, the youth group moved onto a new organization Project SHARE, a food bank that provides groceries for people below the poverty level in Carlisle County Pennsylvania. While some kids helped weed and plant flowers, others sorted and packaged bread. By the end of the group’s two days at Project SHARE, they had managed to package around twenty four thousand rolls. These rolls, along with other grocery items are distributed the third week of every month. In addition, the organization serves fresh produce daily- on a given month it will serve around a thousand recipients. After their work at Project SHARE was done for the day, the youth group went back to the house to relax then went to Mechanicsburg Presbyterian Church for dinner. A few women from that church prepared a dinner of Sloppy Joes, pasta, and salad to show their hospitality and gratitude. The trip ended with an evening of fun at Hershey Park.
According to Anna Sherman, a rising senior at SHS “[The trip] was a fun experience…where I got to work in a warehouse and have the warm feeling of helping people.” Taylor Yu, a rising sophomore at SHS, spoke about the gratification that she gets from service. “ The mission trip was an amazing experience and a fantastic way to combine fun and charitable work. I definitely had a great time and I am really proud of all the help we gave.”
Kailyn Amory wrote this article and this was her third mission trip.
