Thanks to all who helped with Kevin Barron's Miracle Field Tournament.

I must publicly thank and commend Kevin Barron, his family, and the army of volunteers and donors he recruited to conduct this year’s Miracle Field Tournament fundraiser in Horsham.

I have run Horsham Challenger Little League, a baseball program for persons with disabilities, since 2005, when my son began playing in the league.

Between his junior and senior years at Hatboro Horsham High School Kevin chose to raise funds to build a “Miracle Field” for our league as his senior project. Kevin’s own words best explain why a star high school baseball player (and now college athlete for Campbell University) chose to devote his last three summers to fundraising for a baseball field for persons with disabilities:

I started this project after watching a Challenger game at night under the lights. Earlier that day, we had a little bit of rain and I noticed that our Challenger participants that are in wheelchairs, either did not show or just watched from the side as the playing field was too soft for them. Often times if it rains, their games are cancelled even if it is sunny at the time of the game.

My main purpose of doing this is to allow all children no matter what ability or disability they may have, to have the chance to enjoy the sport of baseball in a safe manner. I want to raise awareness to show that there is a place for everyone and all kids are welcome to play baseball without anything holding them back.

I visited the tournament on Saturday, and was thrilled by the amount of community support and awareness he has generated. (https://horshamchallengernews.shutterfly.com/pictures/620) While it is certainly noteworthy that a teenager can raise over $70,000, to me, as the parent of a child with a disability, Kevin’s most impressive accomplishment has been raising the level of awareness and inclusion of persons with disabilities.

His volunteers included many “typical” middle and high school students and their parents, and my hope is that they will welcome their disabled classmates and co-workers when school and work resume in the fall. We have already seen a dramatic increase in the number of volunteer Buddies for Horsham Challenger Little League.

At church today, we had a prayer that expresses this sentiment well: “That sports may be an opportunity for friendly encounters between peoples and may contribute to peace in the world.”

This fall, we will offer our first fall Challenger baseball games, on weeknight evenings. Anyone interested in participating, as a player or volunteer, may contact me at 215-241-8866, or sjaskiewicz@lawsgr.com.

Again, congratulations and thanks to Kevin Barron and all of his volunteer supporters and donors who are transforming the dream of a playing field for persons with disabilities into a reality. As his motto states, “Every child deserves the chance to play baseball.”

(In case you may not be familiar with Kevin’s project, information about it may be found at http://kpbarron96.wixsite.com/... and http://www.thehealthykids.com/montco-teen-determined-to-make-baseball-accessible-to-kids-with-special-needs/)