The Boys & Girls Clubs of Southwest Virginia are pleased to announce the receipt of a grant in the amount of $17,500.00 from the Cal Ripken Senior Foundation.
Roanoke, Virginia (BGCSWVA) July 6th, 2016 – The Cal Ripken Senior Foundation has graciously awarded the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southwest Virginia a grant that combines sports and crime prevention. This grant will be used to implement the Cal Ripken Senior Foundation’s specialized program called Badges for Baseball. Badges for Baseball attempts to integrate law enforcement officials with youths from “at risk” neighborhoods. The goal of this program is to change youth’s perceptions of law enforcement by forming successful relationships between kids and law officials while teaching fundamentals of team sports, character building, and many other valuable skills. “Baseball’s the hook, it’s the reason people get together but the goal is much larger than that,” said Virginia Western District U.S. Attorney and BGCSWVA Badges for Baseball mentor, John Fishwick. “It’s to build trusting relationships with law enforcement and the community and also have wonderful mentoring opportunities.”
A vital part of this program is the utilization of volunteer efforts. With that said, we will be needing volunteers to participate in this program in many different facets.
If you or someone you know would like to participate in Badges for Baseball be aware that there are many opportunities. These include but are not limited to mentorships, coaching, and teaching the components of a variety of sports. This is sure to be a wonderful experience for all involved and we are thrilled to implement this program at all of our BGCSWVA locations.
Please contact Libby Dembski at ldembski@bgcswva.org or (540) 904-7401 for information regarding volunteering or any additional inquiries.