Sunday, April 18, 2010
Publication: Bucks County Local News (Click link to view article and video)
BY Jeff Werner
Advance Editor
The Miracle League of Northampton Township celebrated opening day on Sunday with a parade to the field and an evening of softball at the Northampton Township Park.
The fun was a prelude for what promises to be an extra special year ahead.
A miracle is in the works in Northampton that will affect young lives for decades to come.
The miracle is a new set of fields proposed for the township park on Hatboro Road, specially made for special-needs youngsters.
Organizers of the Miracle League of Northampton Township now need the public's help in making the miracle happen.
It is in the process of raising the $750,000 needed to build a baseball field and multi-purpose field next to an existing pavilion at the park.
The two-acre complex will be designed to Miracle League standards, made with a rubberized surface for easy use by wheelchairs and walkers.
"The great thing about building it at the park is that all the amenities already exist," said park and recreation director Nancy Opalka. "The kids will also be feeling like they are part of everything and inclusion is a big thing."
Right now, the league is holding games on regular fields, said organizer Joe Hand. "But it's very difficult for the kids with walkers and wheelchairs to maneuver and navigate. They can't really get around. The new fields will be rubberized just like school tracks. It's the coolest thing."
The organization is hoping to receive approval from the board of supervisors either this month or next month with a ground breaking sometime in late spring or early summer, according to Hand.
"If I had my choice, kids would be playing on the field as early as the late summer or early fall. That would be cool," said Hand.
Hand, a resident of Northampton for 25 years, proposed the idea of a Miracle League field at a township meeting back in 2007. He had read about the League in a magazine he picked up on an airplane flight and thought it would be a great idea for the township.
The next thing he knew, he was working on the formation of the league with Bill Gannon, the president of Northampton Baseball, which had been considering a similar idea.
"Ocean City has a great boardwalk. Philadelphia has the Liberty Bell. I want Northampton Township to be known as the place where they have the Miracle Field. That would be really cool if we could do that," said Hand.
For more information about the league and its plans, visit http://www.miracleleaguenhpa.org/.
"The families in this community who have special needs children just can't wait for these fields to be built. It should have been built years and years ago," said Hand.
"Parents are telling me their children are excited about not sitting home on a Saturday and watching their neighbors pack their children up in the car as they sit in the window and watch them drive away because they don't have a field. Now they'll be able to go to their own field at the same ballpark where their buddies are and maybe they will walk home together. This is about inclusion and the kids in our community who feel trapped. They don't have an outlet to go play sports on. We want to give that to them."
So far, the league has raised $350,000 toward its goal. And miracles continue to happen.
Diane Katz, of Richboro, opened her home and hosted a private party raising $15,000 for the league. Philadelphia Eagles Tight End Brent Celak and his wife spent a day at Peter Pox Restaurant in Holland signing autographs and donating the proceeds to the league. And the Pennsbury 10-and-under travel baseball team raised $948 for the league through donations they received every time the team got a hit.
In addition, the group is raising money through its "Yes We Can" campaign. Donation cans have been placed at businesses throughout the township and continue to collect funds for the fields.
Another fund-raiser is the "Buy a Brick" project. Individuals or companies can purchase 4x4 bricks for $79 or 8x8 bricks for $149 to be installed at the new field. For a form, visit http://www.miracleleaguenhpa.org/.
Upcoming fund-raisers include a Trenton Thunder Game on July 18 and a golf outing at the Northampton Country Club on Oct. 14.
Take a Stroll for the Miracle League
On Saturday, April 24 Comcast invites the community to join a "Stroll for a Miracle" at the Northampton Township Municipal Park, the future site of the Miracle League of Northampton Township. Registration begins at 8 a.m. followed by the stroll at 9. Walkers and wheelchairs are welcome. At 10:30 a.m., everyone's invited to catch the Miracle League teams in action. The event is free and open to the public. Donations will be accepted. For information, visit http://www.miracleleaguenhpa.org/. Comcast has donated $50,000 toward the project in addition to contributing a commercial for the league.