What I was doing in Dallas

As promised, here's an explanation. I was in Dallas for work. 'Work?' you ask, 'to learn about passing out worksheets and helping 3rd graders with times tables?' No. 'Work?' you ask, 'like you have an actual job?'

Well yes, actually I do. I was at a baseball coaches' conference. No, I am not working as a baseball coach. Having very little hand-eye coordination, I abandoned ball sports long ago.
I was at the conference to represent the nonprofit organization that I am running along with our friend Tom (Dizzy): Play Global!. In addition to learning words in German like "to pour", it's what's been keeping my brain spinning for the past year.

If you don't remember the basics of the organization, check out this post from March 8th.

Since the organization got started last year, we have done a lot of waiting. Mostly we have been waiting for the IRS to approve the application for Play Global! to be a tax-exempt nonprofit. Without that we can't accept donations or apply for grants or do much else.

But in November and December things really started to pick up. We secured a donation from former professional baseball player Derrek Lee to purchase 5 batting cages and have them shipped to Uganda. We started working with the Pearl of Africa Series, a Canadian-led group that is also supporting youth baseball in Uganda. With their help and some donor support, we will send a couple of coaches to Uganda in the summer to help set up the cages as well as train some coaches and players.

We also started planning a baseball clinic/tournament in Crimea, Ukraine for March of this year. We'll bring in players and coaches from around that region (Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Belarus and maybe some other places), to improve their skills and play against each other. There has never been an international baseball tournament in that region of Eastern Europe before, and what's even better is that we'll have kids from different countries, ethnic backgrounds and even those speaking different languages playing on the same teams. This will be our first real project and a chance to get feedback from the participants on what it feels like to learn and play with people they wouldn't have otherwise met.

The IRS called last month to say they have started working on our application. This was a relief - I'd had nightmares that they'd reject the whole thing because it was printed on A4 paper instead of 8.5x11" paper. We also started working with a sponsor organization that can take donations for us  while the tax-exempt status is pending.

Which brings me back to Dallas. Along with two board members, I hosted a networking event for conference-goers with the goal of introducing Play Global! and building our list of supporters. It worked, I think. At least people showed up. They all knew who I was, since there were no other women in the room. I think I saw all of 2 other women at the conference, aside from the hotel staff. There were no lines in the ladies' room.

As an added bonus, in Dallas we met up with Brian's cousin Maggie and her boyfriend Luc, who generously drove us around town. We also had dinner with Brian's youngest brother Dan. It was good to see some familiar faces in a strange place. 

You may continue to read occasional Play Global! updates on this blog since it's part of what I do every day, but if you'd like to follow what we are doing, support us, spread the word or donate, please check out our website (I created it, mostly): www.play-global.org
You can also follow us on Facebook and Linkedin. Just click on the buttons in the top corner of the website.

I like this job of mine. I am learning a lot. Sometimes I feel like I don't know what I am doing. But I figure that between me, Tom and our board, we know more than a lot of people who start an organization or a business. If we can pull it off, I'll be pretty excited. And it requires no more hand-eye coordination than being fast at typing, so I have a shot.