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BASEBALL PHILANTHROPY

From Rockville to Anacostia, Bethesda to Santo Domingo, the Bethesda Community Base Ball Club is making a real difference in the lives of children. We led a campaign to build a “Baby Povich Field” in Cabin John Regional Park for youth players.

 

We took a long neglected field in Anacostia and turned it into a jewel for the Fields of Dreams after-school program. We sent five enormous boxes of sneakers and gloves to Manny Mota for the children of Campo de Sueños in the Dominican Republic. And we continue to improve youth fields from Bethesda to Wheaton, Rockville to Takoma Park.

 

All of these improvements have been made possible because of the extraordinary success of the Big Train and the generosity of our fans. Paul Newman makes salad dressing and puts the profits into good causes. We admire his entrepreneurial philanthropy, and we think making baseball is more fun than making salad dressing.

 

We established the Bethesda Community Base Ball Club to raise funds to improve the quality of youth baseball and softball fields in Montgomery County and the District of Columbia. Because of the success of the Big Train Base Ball & Auction in 2000, 2001 and 2002 we have raised over $155,000 to improve the fields where our kids play.

REBUILDING BASEBALL DREAMS AT HOME AND ABROAD



Cabin John Regional Park Field #2

In the winter and spring of 2002, the Bethesda Community Base Ball Club led a community partnership that included Bethesda Chevy Chase Baseball, the Maryland-National Captial Park & Planning Commission, the Montgomery County Baseball Association, and the Montgomery County Parks Foundation towards the renovation of Cabin John Regional Park Field #2.

 

Sandy Spring Builders and Miller & Long Concrete, two Bethesda-based firms made legendary by their generous contributions to the construction of Povich Field, once again donated labor and materials towards the renovation of Field #2. Sandy Spring Builders built the dugouts and remodeled the press box. Miller & Long handled the concrete work. Thanks also to Richard Leggin Architects, who provided design and architectual services. Thanks to Aggregate Industries for providing the concrete, to Dixie Sporting Goods for providing the padding and netting, to Montgomery Irrigation for installing the irrigation system, to Sport Systems for installing the netting, to Trowbridge Steel for providing the steel, to Gelberg Signs for the banners, signs and scoreboard, and to the many donors whose contributions paid for the Povich-style seats.

 

Fields of Dreams

In the spring of 2002, the Bethesda Community Base Ball Club spent $25,000 to completely redevelop and renovate the baseball field at Kimball Elementary School near Fort Dupont Park in Anacostia. Because of the disrepair of the field, baseball had not been played here for many years.

 

Today, Kimball's ballfield is the center of the Fields of Dreams after-school program, which began operation in three D.C. public elementary schools in February. In addition to baseball instruction, the program includes an educational enhancement component focusing on the values of Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson.

 

The Bethesda Community Base Ball Club was a Founding Partner of the Fields of Dreams program along with the Billings Foundation, the District of Columbia Sports & Entertainment Commission, the Fannie Mae Foundation, Linens of the Week, Mario Morino, Cafritz Foundation, Graham Fund, Niki Mock and Phil Liebovitz and The Washington Post.

In the winter of 2003, a BCBBC contribution of $10,000 will be used to add dugout benches, protective fencing, and torepair the backstop at Simon Elementary School field in Anacostia. To support Fields of Dreams, please send your tax-deductible contribution payable to "Fields of Dreams/A Greater Washington" and mail your check in to

Fields of Dreams/A Greater Washington
1730 Rhode Island Avenue, NW
Suite 712
Washington, D.C. 20036

 

Campo de Suenos

The generous donations of Big Train fans over the 2001 and 2002 seasons have allowed us to ship a total of 9 large boxes of baseball and sports equipment, shoes and clothing to the Campo de Sueños baseball complex in the Dominican Republic. Campo de Sueños, located in one of the poorest neighboorhoods of Santo Domingo, is run by former Los Angeles Dodger Manny Mota and his wife Margarita.

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