Meet Play Global!

Hey readers,

Usually my blog is about my own musings and misadventures, but today I have something to tell you that's actually interesting.

Over the past several months, I have been working on starting a nonprofit organization. It's called Play Global!

 

It wasn't my idea. The visionary is our own Tom (Dizzy) Gillespie. He usually appears in my blog when I write about trips to Hamburg, or our vacations to Egypt and Scotland. This time, he's the man with a plan to continue offering baseball programs to kids and coaches in developing countries and places dealing with a lot of conflict. He's done some of this work before, but funding from corporations and MLB isn't available to do much more.

And why, you ask? Sure these kids need a lot of things, but why baseball? That was my question too. The answer is that baseball is a tool. It is a chance for participants to learn the lessons that can help them succeed now and in the future: how to play and work as a team, how to respect each others' differences, how to learn from your mistakes. Baseball is unique because most kids in Uganda or Israel or Serbia haven't played it before. It gives them an opportunity to start together from the beginning, no matter their gender, religion, or ethnic background.

And why me? I have some experience in managing programs and doing communications for nonprofits, and I'm working on my Master's degree in Public and Nonprofit Administration. There's a little I already know and a lot I am learning along the way.

And why now? We've been working on the organization since September, but this week we are getting the word out and asking our contacts to "meet Play Global!". The organization is mentioned in an article about youth baseball in Uganda that will be published in the program for the World Baseball Classic, which starts this week. That gave us a deadline to get our website in shape, and have a clear message to send about our programs. We're planning to do a few clinics later this year for both players and coaches.

There's a lot more information about Play Global!, our programs, and how you can help on the website: www.play-global.org
You can also keep up on our progress and spread the word by liking our Facebook page.

That's all the news for now. I promise to write more about mundane daily adventures soon.