Magulick. “First and foremost, the core of this is to provide a
place for athletes with special needs to participate in sports, but
it’s also a community asset just like anything else in the park.”
There are also other benefits. “The Miracle League is built for
athletes with special needs and has a huge impact on them, but I
think one piece that gets overlooked are the leadership qualities
that middle school and high school kids are getting by becoming
Buddies,” notes Magulick.
One of the many volunteer opportunities in the league
involves a “Buddy” system to help the athletes—pairing each
player with an able-bodied peer.
“My nieces, who are in ninth and tenth grade, joined as
Buddies,” says Magulick. “At first they said, ‘Uncle Mike is
coaching and this will also help Luke.’ As Luke gets older, it’s
much more than that. I’ve seen them really grow—watching
them interact with the players and having fun.”
The estimated cost of the project is $2 million and will be
financed by donations and fundraising. The board secured
Pirates Charities as a major sponsor, and will receive support
from RBVetCo, Rocky Bleier’s veteran-owned general
contracting company. Robert Morris University will also be a
strategic partner and will provide interns and grant writing.
The project has received positive feedback. “It’s very
emotional and humbling for our board to see how many people
really want to be a part of this,” says Magulick. “We met people at
Community Day who told us how much they appreciated what
we were doing, but could only afford to give $5. It was difficult to
take their money because it was a real hardship for them to do it.
Others said they tried to create a baseball league 15 years ago for
kids with special needs and it didn’t work. A couple told us they
never thought they’d see their grandson play baseball because of
his diagnosis, and now they’ll be able to.”
Mike Sherry is president and founder of The Miracle League
of Southwestern PA, the first league in the Pittsburgh area, which
was formed in 2007. “My wife Chris and I couldn’t be happier
and more excited for Mike and Christina,” Sherry says. “It was
always our vision 10 years ago to see Miracle League fields built
in communities all around western PA. We are confident that
the Moon Township community will rally around Mike and
Christina so that they fundraise and eventually build a ball field
that is accessible to all children.”
For more information on donating and volunteering
opportunities, visit the website at miraclesinmoon.org. n
“The development of this
field will not only benefit
Moon area children with
handicap accessibility needs,
but all children in the
surrounding communities.”
Miracles in Moon poster.
West Allegheny | Winter 2017 | icmags.com 11