Plenty of help still needed in raising funds, preparing alternate fields for 2021

Fred Kelly, fred.kelly@mdn.net

Images of the destruction in Sanford Village Park as the result of flooding are seen in this Aug. 12, 2020 photo

Images of the destruction in Sanford Village Park as the result of flooding are seen in this Aug. 12, 2020 photo

Photo: Daily News File Photo

Images of the destruction in Sanford Village Park as the result of flooding are seen in this Aug. 12, 2020 photo

Images of the destruction in Sanford Village Park as the result of flooding are seen in this Aug. 12, 2020 photo

Sanford Youth League: 'still lots to do' but making progress

The Sanford Youth League board shared an open letter to Little League baseball and softball parents and other interested parties via various social media channels recently, providing updates on the status of the SYL fields which were destroyed by flooding this past spring.

According to the board, the facility inside Sanford Village Park will not be rebuilt in time for the 2021 season, but the league has been able to secure alternate fields in Lee, Mills, and Edenville townships on which to play ball in the spring. Volunteers have been working this fall to prepare those fields for play, and the board is seeking additional volunteers to pitch in and help get them ready by the start of the spring season.

The board also noted that "while there's still lots to do," the park has been largely cleared of debris due to the help of several local construction and excavating companies and that plans are definitely underway to start rebuilding the park in 2021.

"The Village of Sanford, which owns the park, has been a wonderful partner to SYL, continuing to include our organization as a key stakeholder on plans for rebuilding," wrote Andy Clark, the SYL's tournament director and director of communications and fundraising. "Rowe Engineering has also donated their expertise in drawing up some concepts for the rebuild. Next, the Village will take those to FEMA to work through the fundraising process.

"Given this progress in such short time, SYL is optimistic a rebuild will take place in 2021," he added.

In addition to the loss of the fields, the SYL also suffered the loss of all of its equipment, including baseball and softball gear and landscaping equipment used for maintaining the fields. Thus far, the league has raised approximately $52,000 to help offset those losses via a variety of community fundraisers, sponsorships by local businesses, individual donations from community members and local businesses, and the league's GoFundMe campaign.

Details about the latter can be found at https://www.gofundme.com/f/sanford-youth-league-flood-rebuild

In addition, to donate to the Village of Sanford's Midland Area Community Foundation fund, go to https://www.midlandfoundation.org/fund/sanford-park-and-ball-field-project-fund-1081/

"SYL has also applied for some local grants and (is) hopeful those will come through to round out our funding sources," Clark wrote. "Anyone who is interested in helping to bring youth baseball and softball back to Sanford Village Park should consider volunteering with the clean-up of our alternate fields in the spring of 2021, or they can donate to the GoFundMe ... or to the Village's Midland Area Community Foundation fund."

To learn more about the SYL, go to https://www.sanfordlittleleague.com/

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Sanford Youth League: 'still lots to do' but making progress - Midland Daily News