Old-Time Baseball - Part VI

For the 6th straight summer, I'll be trying to do something worthwhile on Standing Rock, but this year is different and quite a bit better, I think, because it's community-driven. Those of you who have donated before know previous efforts were almost entirely spent promoting youth baseball and community softball events in Bullhead, SD in the days leading up to their extraordinary V-J Day Celebration the second weekend in August. This involved getting equipment and basic gear in the hands of kids - gloves, bats and balls, caps and t-shirts - organizing practices, providing refreshments, sponsoring community softball games with cook-outs, helping upgrade the facilities, and so forth.

This year's efforts will be similar in scope but centered in the larger nearby community of McLaughlin and begin almost immediately. They will be led by a local group called the Community Alliance. Funds raised here will be spent in ways described above, but the idea will be to help create ongoing summer-long youth programs and community events. Efforts to augment and support the V-J Day Celebration in Bullhead will also continue.

There's quite a bit to this and hopefully the Effectively Wild podcast posted below, hosted by Ben Lindbergh with John Brave Bull and Ardyce Taken Alive from Standing Rock, will be both interesting and informative.

This is a more ambitious goal financially than previous years, and I think I should say explicitly that all funds donated will go directly to activities I've described, not to cover things like my personal travel expenses and so forth.