What follows is the letter sent out regular mail today to our sponsors from years past in preparation for our fourth season of Tillicum Crusher baseball.
Keep your fingers crossed.
If you’re reading this and have not contributed before read on since given what has happened at Tillicum Elementary School and throughout the community, every single elementary school in the Clover Park School District should have a team of its own.
What if the big ‘C’ on the Tillicum Crusher cap stood for character? As a matter of fact, it does. As we enter our 4th season of baseball, again a part of the National PONY League (Protect Our Nation’s Youth), as coaches we’re looking for talent. But not40-yard dash times and sweet swings. Those help but a bad attitude now can produce a criminal record later as Chris Yuscavage wrote in “Complex Sports.”
You have been a wonderful part with your past financial contributions in helping The Tillicum Crushers realize their potential on and off the field. “Life skills,” wrote then-Tillicum Principal Taj Jensen when we broached this idea of a team comprised of students all from Tillicum Elementary School four years ago, “taught through organized sports are life skills learned no other way.”
We believe that too. As you do. That’s why you give.
And that’s why I’m appealing to you again.
The boys are no longer seven years old. Many are now 10. As they move up in age, costs increase. To put one boy on the field, just for registration, costs $138.50, up from $90 four years ago. Then there’s uniforms for some of the new players; carry-overs for the returners with some having eaten their way into a larger pair of pants or jersey. And so it goes.
Tillicum’s team has a unique relationship to the community. No other team as far as we know is comprised of players all from the same school and all supported by community benefactors. It’s a wonderful partnership. Tillicum Elementary School teachers attend games; get to throw in the first pitch; give the uniformed players high-fives in the hallway; hold gym assemblies before the big game to recognize the players. It’s our very own Friday night lights. What memories are being made!
Should you hopefully want to contribute again, (our deadline is mid-February to register), checks may be made out to Tillicum Woodbrook Neighborhood Association, c/o myself, President, and mailed to my address: 14506 Portland Ave. SW, Lakewood, WA 98498, communitymattersweb@gmail.com.
On behalf of “Tillicum’s Team”, the Tillicum Crushers, and their parents, school family and community, thank you!
And once again, to reiterate, what Tillicum has accomplished can happen in Any Community USA, beginning with an elementary school near you. Contact David at the same information provided above as he would be more than happy to assist you in getting started.
The Lakewood Baseball Club in which Tillicum plays is an outstanding organization for helping youth realize their field of dreams and they can be reached here.
The “C” has many meanings, and “character” is certainly one of them. The other “C” is “Community”, and the Crushers have also obtained that, a sense of community.
Lakewood Baseball Club falls in between the “recreation” level activity programs and the $2000 a year “pay to play” programs. We don’t have facilities, fancy training equipment or big name sports stars. What we do have is community baseball.
The Lakewood Baseball Club strives to give kids in our community a venue for life skill development through the games of baseball. It does not come cheaply. A volunteer run 501(c)3, we work to keep costs low.
The Tillicum Crushers have community identity, but many other parts of Lakewood do not. We ask that you consider looking into keeping baseball alive in Lakewood by helping us pull together. If you are a business in Lakewood, why not put back into the community by supporting our youth.
We certainly love to see more Lakewood businesses tied into our youth team through sponsorships and donations. Sponsor a team or the league. We have all levels to look at. $50 can by a bucket of balls for a team. You can get some ideas by checking out our link: http://lakewoodbaseballclub.org/sites/lakewoodbaseballclub/content/940/Become-a-Sponsor