A Chadds Ford boy is an avid
Phillies fan, but he decided to help a charity associated with the Baltimore
Orioles.
Michael Walter-Dillon, a
9-yeard-old student at Chadds Ford Elementary School collected more than 500
pounds of baseball equipment for the Oriole Advocates who send the equipment to
youngsters in Latin America.
“I heard they used crumpled
cardboard for balls and sticks for bats, the third-grader said. “I felt I knew
how wealthy this country is and it felt so sad, in my heart… It’s not community
service. It’s global service.”
With the help of friends, the
school district, KAU and URA, collection containers were placed at CFES,
Hillendale Elementary, CF Patton Middle and Unionville High schools, and at
little league fields during the opening weekend in April.
About half of what was
collected came with the help of Marlene Doherty of the KAU Little League.
Michael refers to her as “his angel” in the project.
Michael said he feels grateful
for all the help he received in collecting the equipment. He was also
surprised.
“It felt awkward that people
were helping a stranger, and I’m just a kid,” he said.
According to Michael’s mother,
Mary Walter, Michael collected more than 1,300 pieces of equipment—bats,
gloves, cleats, caps and uniform shirts and socks—enough to field 15 teams of
15 players each.
It all goes to the group Oriole
Advocates for its Cardboard to Leather program.
He got the idea, he said, after
gong to the Cal Ripken World Series in Aberdeen, Md., last year where he met
members of the Advocates and learned what they do.
Bob Harden, from the Advocates,
who came to Chadds Ford to pick up the gear, said the equipment would go to a
warehouse in Baltimore before being sorted, repackaged and sent, probably, to
Nicaragua, Puerto Rico or Venezuela.
About Rich Schwartzman
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading...
Comments