The Club was entertained by DAVID RHODE of PITCH IN FOR BASEBALL, an organization that distributes baseball equipment to communities in need of assistance for a variety of reasons. David took up the cause in 2005 and attributes his interest in helping others to his ROTARY experiences, which includes being president of The ROTARY CLUB OF NORRISTOWN. His organization got going with help from the Springfield Rotary, and our Robert Santangelo, and has grown from regional service to where it now has a presence in 100 countries around the world. The group takes donated equipment or new equipment purchased with donations and distributes it to sports groups that have special needs for baseball gloves, bats, balls, makes, and other supporting equipment. Their process entails receiving requests, doing preliminary investigations, and selecting groups that hey can help. He stresses that the groups receiving aid, get the kids involved in raising money , learning about helping others. He gave examples of his 9 year experience in Philadelphia, where they have affected the lives of over 4000 kids, and that 76% lived in poverty and did now own a glove. They have found that over 70% of the kids improve school attendance and grades when they have the opportunity to play ball.  To date, Pitch In For Baseball has distributed $7,5 million in equipment, affecting 700,000 kids in more that 850 countries.
If you would like to support this group:  contact DAVID RHODE at drhode@pifb.org   or visit www.pifb.org.
 
 
 
President ROBIN PARKER welcomes DAVID RHODE