Pitch in for Baseball Replaces North Merrick Little League Baseball Equipment Lost to Hurricane Sandy

Pitch In For Baseball (PIFB), a not-for-profit that collects and redistributes new and gently-used youth baseball/softball equipment to communities in need all across the world, is donating $150,000 worth of baseball equipment to  youth baseball leagues and communities in the New York/New Jersey area that were impacted by the devastation of Hurricane Sandy.   

As a result of this equipment, kids in Island Park, North Merrick, Oceanside, Rockaway and East Rockaway on Long Island and the New Jersey towns of Bayonne and Bayshore will all have a glove on their hand and a bat on their shoulder this spring when the umpires yell, Play Ball!  The delivery of equipment to North Merrick will be completed by the end of February.

“As communities get on their feet it’s important to restore a sense of normalcy and nothing is more normal than youngsters taking the baseball fields in the Spring,” said Roy Smalley III, former MLB All-Star and President of Pitch in for Baseball.  “Hurricane Sandy destroyed the contents of youth baseball equipment sheds and washed away bats, balls and gloves in flooded basements and garages in all of these communities.  We hope helping replacing some of the baseball equipment that was lost will allow these people to focus upon rebuilding their lives.”

 PIFB has been working with local youth baseball organizations in each of these communities this winter to assess the needs of the league and families in the community.  Throughout February and March, PIFB trucks will be transporting more than $150,000 worth of new and gently used baseball equipment from their Philadelphia headquarters to these communities in need.   People can support the efforts of PIFB by donating new or gently-used baseball equipment, or by making a financial donation. 

To donate visit www.PitchInForBaseball.org or text the words “Give Gloves” to 80088 to make a $10 donation (normal text messaging rates apply). Pitch in for Baseball has been assisting kids and communities in need since 2005, many of those efforts in the form of disaster relief. 

PIFB has provided much needed baseball and softball equipment following tornadoes in Joplin, MO and Henryville, IN, to communities in Japan impacted by the tsunami and earthquake, to flood-stricken Nashville in the spring of 2010 and many in  Mississippi following the severe weather in Spring 2011. 

 About Pitch In For Baseball Founded in 2005, Pitch In For Baseball is the central organization for the collection and redistribution of new and gently used youth baseball and softball equipment to underserved communities around the world.  PIFB had distributed equipment and uniforms to more than 75 countries worldwide and more than 250 communities around the United States impacting over 160,000 children in need.  Based outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, PIFB is a 501 c 3 not for profit organization.  For more information, visit www.pitchinforbaseball.org.