truebluefan

CINCINNATI -- The Reds Community Fund teamed up with National City, Give Back Cincinnati and the Cincinnati Recreation Commission to renovate 46 youth baseball fields in Greater Cincinnati as part of "Reds Field Day" on Saturday, March 3. The collaborative effort helped ensure that inner-city baseball fields in Cincinnati, Covington and Newport are ready for the upcoming season.

The day concluded with a ceremony at Queensgate Ball Fields in Cincinnati. The festivities at Queensgate featured a check presentation, announcing a multi-year, $364,000 relationship between National City and the Reds Community Fund. The ceremony also included kids and coaches from several area teams that receive support and funding from the Reds Community Fund.

"Today was about making sure these fields and parks are in the best possible shape for the upcoming baseball season," said Charley Frank, Executive Director of the Reds Community Fund. "Thanks to the efforts of our volunteer grounds crews from National City, Give Back Cincinnati and CRC, kids and coaches throughout Greater Cincinnati will be playing on better fields this spring."

More than 250 volunteers braved the chilly weather to rake fields, clear parks of debris and assist recreation staff with general spring maintenance. Work also consisted of various park improvements to some of the more prominent inner-city recreation facilities in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.

Volunteers were deployed to the 46 Greater Cincinnati field renovation sites targeted by the Reds Community Fund in 2006 and 2007. Sites included: Hirsch, Paddock Hills, Tennessee/Paddock, North Avondale, Rockdale, Evanston, Hoffman, Ashland Chapel, Dyer, Weaver, Madisonville Recreation Center, Leblond, Bramble, Pleasant Ridge, Boldface, Owl's Nest, Hartwell, Queensgate, Schmidt and Oskamp in Cincinnati; and Ralph Mussman, Riddleview and Bill Cappell in Northern Kentucky.

Volunteers met at Great American Ball Park at 8 a.m. for breakfast and a brief training session, as well as partner comments and a video greeting from Reds Chief Executive Officer Bob Castellini. Groups then dispersed to assigned park locations and were supervised by staff members from the Cincinnati Recreation Commission, as well as Covington and Newport recreation officials.

This comprehensive effort to improve the conditions of inner-city baseball fields in Greater Cincinnati and throughout Reds Country has become one of the defining features of the Community Fund. Leveraging the resources and services of local government and recreation departments, the initiative has become an instant collaborative success, making baseball more accessible to coaches, parents and thousands of children.

In 2006, the Community Fund invested more than $400,000 on 64 baseball fields in Cincinnati (18), Covington (6), Newport (3), Dayton (14), Louisville (5), Sarasota (12) and Maineville (6). In 2007, 74 more baseball field renovations are scheduled in Cincinnati (27), Dayton (10), Columbus (10), Indianapolis (8), Lexington (8), Louisville (5) and Sarasota (6). The projects focus on infield surfaces and drainage, outfield fencing and safety caps, home plate areas, batters boxes, batting cages and improved grass infields.

Since its inception in 2001, the Reds Community Fund has used baseball as a vehicle to impact the lives of underprivileged kids. Through its signature outreach program, the Reds Rookie Success League, as well as its youth baseball and softball funding initiatives, and its field renovation efforts, the Community Fund has impacted 8,220 children primarily in the Greater Cincinnati region. With planned expansion of each program in 2007, the anticipated number of youth impacted by the Reds Community Fund will expand beyond 15,000.