A couple of boxes and a few baseball equipment bags sat waiting to be picked up in the lobby of Mt. Zion Center by former Clarkston Riverdawg coach Mike Navarre.
All of the Riverdawg coaches had gathered unwanted baseball uniforms and equipment from their players to be sent to under-privileged kids in the Dominican Republic. They dropped off the items as players came to be fitted and order new uniforms for the 2009 season.
‘This is the third the Riverdawgs have been doing this,? said Benson Lange, Clarkston Youth Baseball Organization Secretary and Public Relations officer.
A few hundred pounds were donated this year and included at least three dozen T-shirts, helmets, mitts, equipment bags and anything else still useful and in good condition.
Around noon, Navarre came to pick up the items and take them to their next location – Maureen Tippen’s house.
He had been taking the donations to Tippen since he mentioned wanting to do something with the items, where they wouldn’t end up in resale shops, rummage sales or thrown away. Tippen said she would take them to Dominican Republic on her yearly trip as part of Midwest Medical Mission.
‘Baseball is so popular there,? said Tippen. ‘It’s very well received, baseball and the opportunity to play baseball at a professional level is a ticket out of poverty in the culture. It’s engrained into their culture.?
The donations from the Riverdawgs are the only baseball items the kids receive in the country.
Tippen explained she was the only one to have access to a baseball organization.
‘The connection with the Riverdawgs has been wonderful,? she said. ‘The donations go to a country that appreciates it. All of their stuff is in mint condition. The kids are probably giving mitts they want to hold onto so a lot of thought goes into it. It’s really a nice thing that they do.?
When Tippen and her group go down there, they save the equipment for the kids most in need for the item
They place the equipment pieces and pants in black garbage bags and bring the kids into their clinic to hand out the bags. The kids place them under their arms as they leave so no one reaches out and grabs the bag.
‘We can’t just hand them out because there would be a riot,? said Tippen. ‘The shirts we give to them in the clinic. They put them on and I take a picture of them.?
Tippen has received reactions from older brothers and fathers wanting shirts in their size.
Tippen has also outfitted orphanages.
‘All of those kids got stuff,? she said. ‘It’s great when we can outfit the whole organization.?
She collects items all year for the trip and has a designated place she puts all of the donations.
The medical equipment is the most important items for them to get down there.
Last year they didn’t have enough room. Everyone wore the Riverdawg uniforms on the trip down there.
They put mitts and anything they could into their personal bags.
Tippen will leave this week for the Dominican Republic and will be there until February 22.
The Riverdawgs began practicing for the 2009 season and will play in their first tournament in April.
Currently there are 90 players in the Riverdawg organization. Ten percent of players and coaches bring items back to be reused, the others can still use their uniforms and equipment for the upcoming season.
Lange explained players on the 9U and 13U teams are new this year, so they did not receive donations from them.
Most donations are from younger players that are most likely to outgrow their uniforms and helmets and will need new ones in the following season.