Baseball, Hot Dogs, Apple Pie… and RAGBRAI?

Thu, Dec 8, 2011 | by TJ Juskiewicz

Youth baseball diamonds in Brooklyn and Slater, Iowa, are proudly sporting new, state-of-the-art electronic scoreboards donated by Build Our Ballpark. The Waterloo based nonprofit organization is dedicated to improving the lives of youth by providing the opportunity to play baseball and softball on quality fields. Its efforts in this past RAGBRAI funded the new scoreboards.

“RAGBRAI was the perfect opportunity for Build Our Ballpark to witness first-hand how youth baseball and softball have been affected in the small communities of Iowa,” said Bob Hellman, Executive Director of Build Our Ballpark. “The team was able to gain some background, reach out to a few communities along the route, and enjoy some great Iowa hospitality.”

Along the RAGBRAI route, Team Build Our Ballpark (BOB) made contact with several youth baseball organizations. The cyclists were able to witness both the passion and lack of funding behind some of Iowa’s youth baseball and softball programs. The towns of Brooklyn and Slater also used RAGBRAI to raise funds for a new scoreboard on their little league fields. As a gift,Team BOB announced that Build Our Ballpark would provide new electronic scoreboards for each. More than $16,000 from the RAGBRAI fundraising efforts was used.

For the past several months, Build Our Ballpark and the towns of Brooklyn and Slater have been communicating on the logistics of the scoreboard donation. Iowa Direct Equipment installed the scoreboards – one at Slater Field in Slater, Iowa, and one at Community Field in Brooklyn, Iowa.

Each scoreboard is unique to the town, and both proudly sport the Build Our Ballpark logo. Team BOB was comprised of cyclists from across the United States. All were motivated by one passion, restoring youth baseball and softball. The team pedaled across Iowa, covering 454 miles in one week, while asking for monetary pledges of support from friends.

To date, Build Our Ballpark has created six superior little league baseball fields and is currently renovating eight more. To keep up to date with current projects, visit BuildOurBallpark.org. Stories from Team BOB’s RAGBRAI adventures can also be found on the organization’s website.

We hope to see Team BOB on next summer’s RAGBRAI and continuing to help these RAGBRAI communities!

Brooklyn, Iowa, Slater, Team BOB

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