By Hannah Marrero (JMU Class of 2017) How do the Harrisonburg Little League Association and the Harrisonburg community team up to finance their love of the game? It’s not easy to pitch a perfect game. However, a little teamwork and a lot of dedication can make anything possible. That is exactly how the Harrisonburg Little League Association and the Harrisonburg community team up to fund the local children’s love of baseball and softball. In 2015, roughly $60,932 was needed to fund all 28 of the Harrisonburg Little League teams. This money goes toward uniforms, supplies, league support, umpires, and funding for team members whose families can’t afford the registration fees. You could say that’s a lot of hot dogs to sell, right? In reality, concession sales only made up about 12% of the funds needed to support all the bats and balls the 28 teams used in 2015. The league has a registration of $65 a player. Although this may seem like a lot of money going into the league’s funds, registration fees only made up another 27% of 2015 revenue. To help their team fund the league, the players of the 2015 Harrisonburg Little League took their swing in the financial ball game. They slid home with another 22% of the league’s 2015 revenue with their fundraising efforts. The kids didn’t let their fear of striking out keep them from asking the residents of the Harrisonburg community to toss the team a few dollars. Some of the players dedicated their evenings and weekends for a few extra swings at their annual Bat-A-Thon fundraiser. A few of the players even managed to individually slide home with a thousand dollars from fundraising efforts. Still, the league was still left with about $23,763 to hit their financial home run. This is when the Harrisonburg community stepped up to the plate. The City of Harrisonburg had a swing hit with about 10% of the league’s 2015 cost in donations. The City of Harrisonburg also takes care of the league’s fields free of charge to help cut down on the league’s expenses. The final inning of the 2015 financial ball game was filled by the local businesses that sponsored the teams. Local businesses donated money to have their logos on the jerseys and their business signs around the field. Their pitched pennies curved in with 22% of the league’s 2015 revenue.
Teamwork makes the Harrisonburg Little League Association’s dreams work on and off the diamond. With help from the Harrisonburg community, the Harrisonburg Little League Association never strikes out on a child’s dream of playing baseball or softball.
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DisclaimerHLLA Story is an official blog site of the Harrisonburg Little League Association. All content is managed by Bluestone Communications, a student-run public relations agency at James Madison University. Please contact Isaac Woo ([email protected]), faculty director of Bluestone Communications, if you have any questions about the blog or the stories. Archives
April 2021
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