WASHINGTON TWP., Pa. — With a sizable donation check in his hands and memories of his youth baseball days on his mind, Chad Christman remembered.
“I grew up here and played baseball right here,” Christman, president of the Emerald Playground Association, said Monday. “I know what these fields and what this league means to the kids and the community.
“I was in the Marine Corps. I was taught to leave things better than when you found them. That’s what we’re doing here for the kids.”
- IronPigs Charities delivered a $7,800 grant to Emerald Playground Association to help subsidize the cost of upgrading its baseball fields
- The upgrades consist of constructing a third base dugout, installing lights and putting up batting cages
- Since 2007, IronPigs Charities has donated more than $1.2 million in grants to support youth-serving nonprofits in the Lehigh Valley
Toward that end, the Emerald Playground Association received a $7,800 grant from IronPigs Charities, the philanthropic arm of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs minor league baseball team.
The funding will help subsidize an $80,000 project to upgrade the facilities at the two baseball fields.
Dugout, batting cage, lights
Plans for one of the baseball fields include construction of a third base dugout —currently only a single metal bleacher on a concrete slab is there — and installation of a batting cage adjacent to the first base line.
Lights will be installed on six high wooden poles at both fields. Christman said he anticipates the lights will be operational for the fall baseball season.
“Receiving a grant like this from IronPigs Charities really helps pay for the improvements we’re doing for the fields."Chad Christman, president, Emerald Playground Association
“Receiving a grant like this from IronPigs Charities really helps pay for the improvements we’re doing for the fields,” Christman said. “We’ve raised $60,000 now with this grant.
“We launched our upgrades project in October of last year; it was something we’d talked about for the past five years or so.
“I was aware that the IronPigs helped out youth organizations, so I applied for the grant. It was great when I got the call.”
Emerald Playground Association is part of Northern Lehigh Youth Baseball.
'A great place to play means everything'
Matt Sommers held the large check in his hands and also remembered.
Sommers, manager of IronPigs Charities and a Lehigh Valley native, fondly recalled the joy of playing youth baseball and support of parents and volunteers.
“Having a great place to play means everything for a kid,” Sommers said. “Every kid deserves a nice place to play, gain confidence, and learn about teamwork.
“That’s why being able to deliver a grant to a youth organization means so much to IronPigs Charities.”
Founded in 2007, IronPigs Charities assists local youth sports leagues with team-management tools, education programs and facility improvements.
The organization has donated more than $1.2 million to youth-serving nonprofit organizations throughout the Lehigh Valley region.
“Making that call to a youth organization that they were chosen to receive a grant is the best part of my job."Matt Sommers, manager of IronPigs Charities
The Lehigh Valley’s degree of help for the Emerald Playground Association project stretches beyond the IronPigs Charities donation.
Northern Lehigh High School has donated its current batting cage, as it is renovating its current facilities.
Grace Industries, of Bath, installed the light poles at no charge.
GR Electric, of Whitehall Township, will install the lights free. Snyder Welding, of Slatington, will fabricate the metal brackets for the lights for free.
“Making that call to a youth organization that they were chosen to receive a grant is the best part of my job,” Sommers said.
