Merrick/North Merrick Little League needs your help

Dear Parents,    

For those of you who do not know me, I am the new President of the Merrick North Merrick Little League. I know that everyone in our community was affected by Hurricane Sandy, but, so was our league. The purpose of this letter is to inform you all of the poor financial state our league is in due to the storm.    

Just two weeks before the storm hit us, Bobby Stokel and I spent over three hours in the equipment shed, located at Town Park, getting the remaining 48 equipment bags ready for the upcoming spring season. Each bag contained 4 batting helmets, a catcher's mask and equipment, and a catcher's glove. Our backup equipment was left on the shelves in case we needed more. However, due to the extreme flooding caused by Hurricane Sandy, our equipment shed was flooded with over 4 feet of water, and we lost all of those equipment bags. In addition, we also lost much of the equipment that was on the shelves, along with dozens of balls, our pitching machine, and other gear as well. We have received an estimate from our equipment supplier, and it will cost the league over $16,000 to replace what was destroyed by the storm. In addition to that loss, due to the same extreme flooding, all four of our fields at Lakeside Elementary School were also damaged in that storm. The metal gang boxes at all fields were completely flooded, and need to be replaced. In addition the electrical box at the scoreboard at Lakeside field # 3 shorted out and needs to be replaced. Finally, all of the dirt infields need to have the top layer of contaminated clay removed, and a fresh layer put down. Our landscaper is estimating that it will cost over $12,500 to to repair the fields and an additional $5,000 to $10,000 to pay for the clay and the scoreboard electrical work.     

As you can see, our league is facing additional costs of over $30,000 just to get us back to where we were before the storm hit. Obviously, the League does not have the funds necessary to pay for this. We are in the process of requesting grants and donations from various organizations and corporations, to help pay for this. However, there is no guarantee that we will receive the amount needed. Therefore, we have no choice but to push hard with all of our fundraising activities this season, and ask that all of you try to secure all the financial support you can from your employers, relatives and others.    

Any amount will help. The more we can raise, the more we can repair and or replace, and restore our League to the way it used to be.  

On behalf of our League, I thank you in advance, and I remain;
Very truly yours, 

Joseph D. Rocco
(President) 

(516)) 731-5200
esqrocco@aol.com
www.merricklittleleague.com