Men, women, boys, girls, we all have dreams. We all spiritually have goals. We all should pursue them at all costs because life is just too short not to. Such is not the case for a bunch of girls that I recently met.
Last week I had the pleasure of meeting some very talented young women in East Harlem who are part of a new baseball team – yes baseball, not softball! – called Reinas Baseball.
The other day my MTA buddy calls me up and goes, “Ray, you’ve gotta meet these girls. They’re a girls baseball team here in Harlem, they’re GOOD, the coach is only 20 years old and the first female to play on her all-boys high-school baseball team.” He had me at “first female”!
The team was in the park shooting a promo video with Harlem nonprofit solutionsNOW, who connects people doing good things with people who have resources. They knew Reina’s Founder Gabby from the neighborhood in El Barrio – they met at La Fonda restaurant during COVID, when SolutionsNOW was delivering over 80,000 meals that La Fonda distributed with World Central Kitchen. When they heard Gabby’s story – they knew they wanted to help her get her message out.
So let me tell you a little about this team. Reinas Baseball is led by head coach and Founder Gabby Velez. They are an 18-and-under Organization dedicated to expanding diversity in the girl’s baseball community. They provide COST FREE elite training for each athlete – not to mention leadership and life skills. They want to make sure the girls feel they belong on AND off the field.
Now, to make their dream come true they need some help from sponsors. These ladies need uniforms, equipment, local transportation, practice and training facilities, and much more. They’re big highlight for this season is to head to Los Angeles for the Baseball for All tournament to compete with other young women. For many of the girls, it will be their first time on a plane. I along with SolutionsNOW want to help these girls make this dream a reality so they can continue to pave the way for other inner city girls who have big baseball dreams!
I know many hearts are heavy these days and I really hope this feel-good, inspirational story has put a smile on your face today – and maybe even motivated you to do, support or share something great!
Here’s how you can help:
Go to their Instagram page @reinasbaseball – click the link in bio to their GoFundMe If you want to donate or connect with Gabby to learn more about Reinas. If you want to know more about solutionsNOW – go to their Instagram: @solutions_now
Photo: Ray Negron
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