A Foothills club feels like it hit a home run after receiving funds to help build a ball park in Black Diamond.
The Boys and Girls Clubs of the Foothills is receiving $150,000 from the Jay Cares Foundation to help build a regulation sized ball diamond this year. The grant is among $1,176,882 the charitable arm of the Toronto Blue Jays is investing in infrastructure projects through its Field of Dreams grant program.
“We are really grateful for this funding and we think it’s going to be wonderful for this community,” said Shirley Puttock, executive director of the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Foothills.
Thirteen organizations in four provinces were awarded grants to build, enhance or refurbish spaces for youth to play ball, develop skills and learn from positive role models this year. The boys and girls club was the only Alberta recipient.
In addition to the Jay Cares Foundation’s contribution of $150,000, the Town of Black Diamond is contributing $77,500 from its parks capital reserve fund and the boys and girls club plans to pay for the remainder of the $250,000 cost for the ball diamond through fundraising initiatives.
The club in Black Diamond consists of 46 youths in the before and after school program and approximately 120 who attend its day camps each summer, said Puttock. The club offers a combination of indoor and outdoor activities for youths ages five to 18 years from cooking to outdoor play.
“We play baseball in the afterschool program and in the summertime and they have a really good time,” she said. “When the Jays’ information came to us I thought it would be nice to have a beautiful ball diamond. We are all about inclusivity and we’re going to share it with the schools. It’s a great community project.”
Puttock said the club submitted an application for the grant last winter, providing such details as the ages and number of children in the club, number of children in the nearby elementary and high schools and number of children involved in local sports.
“It’s been a tough year for grants,” she said. “There is so much competition for those few dollars that this was a great boost for us out here. We are always competing with the bigger cities for everything.”
To play ball, youth in the club often use the small diamond at nearby C. Ian McLaren School.
Having a regulation-sized ball diamond will not only benefit youth in Black Diamond’s before and after school program, but also the 40 youths in High River’s club, 42 in Nanton’s, both schools and local ball teams in the surrounding communities, said Puttock. She said there are 35 registered ball players this year in the Oilfields Sports Association.
“I am over the moon excited,” she said. “Now that the nice weather is here we will try to get out two to three times a week.”
Also excited about the news is Neil Penner, president of the Foothills Minor Ball Association, who said a regulation sized ball park in Black Diamond could mean adding 35 to 45 ball players, or up to five teams, to its roster next year.
“We can always use more ball diamonds in the area,” he said. “We capped a couple of divisions this year because of size. We are growing so fast.”
Penner said the minor ball association uses diamonds throughout the Foothills including in Millarville, Heritage Point, High River and Turner Valley.
“Turner Valley just revamped theirs last year and did a bunch of field work to it and put a bunch of new shale on,” he said. “Anything outside of town is always welcome.”
The mosquito division has grown so much, said Penner, that the association ran out of diamond space in Okotoks and last year both the mosquito and peewee divisions held practices in Turner Valley.
Sharlene Brown, Black Diamond chief administrative officer, said Town administration is working with the MD of Foothills to find a suitable location for the ball diamonds and hopes to have something finalized soon.
“I really congratulate the boys and girls club for taking on this initiative,” she said. “It will be a great facility for all within the region. It’s a very exciting partnership.”
The club is hosting its annual fish fry at the Highwood Memorial Centre in High River May 27 featuring Newfoundland music and comedy by Calgary’s Atlantic Storm and a silent auction with proceeds going to the cost of the ball diamond. Tickets cost $40 and must be bought in advance by calling 403-933-4066.
Puttock said the club will also apply for the Jay Cares Foundation’s baseball skills coaching workshop and to Canadian Tire’s Jumpstart program with hopes to expand its ball equipment.
