PHOENIX — A South Phoenix youth baseball league is hoping to restart its season but needs some help.
Organizers say it all started as a free way for underserved youth to play sports until a financial goalpost moved on them.
Yvette Aguiniga says she had a verbal agreement with the Phoenix Parks and Recreation Department.
”They got the gates open for us, and that was it,” said Aguiniga.
They let her use the baseball field at Alkire Park in south Phoenix for a youth league and she’ll clean it up, organize the league and ultimately, provide something this community didn’t have - a chance for underserved youth to play baseball for free.
“[Either] have food on their plate, or they run and pay for a sports league,” said Aguiniga.
So for five years, Yvette saw her youth sports program grow to over 300 kids from around the Valley.
Equipment was donated, and even the Diamondbacks gave jerseys.
Last year, Aguiniga was told by Parks and Rec that the league needed to pay for insurance at a price nowhere near obtainable for this community – $10,000.
When she asked families to chip in just $20 bucks she said “I went from 320 players, down to 75.”
As the program grew, that’s when the city told her she’d need insurance.
To help with the cost, she was advised to apply for a new city grant. More than $330,000 was recently given to 100+ organizations.
Field of Dreams applied but was denied. Aguiniga said she didn’t qualify because she wasn’t a registered non-profit.
In a statement to ABC15, the Parks and Rec Department wrote in part the informal agreement was to help deter negative activity and promote positive park activation. That waived typical reservation fees through December 31.
“To ensure we are treating all user groups fairly and equitably, we have asked the group to follow our typical field reservation protocols,” said a Parks and Rec spokesperson.
In search of hope, Aguiniga says she told Chicanos Por La Causa about it and they negotiated with the city to bring the price down from $10,000 to $5,000.
CPLC said this isn’t a typical service they would provide in this scenario but they do provide wrap-around services for the community – like small business, after-school programs, or family enrichment.
She’s about halfway to that new, cheaper goal, she says but with a deadline before the end of the year – she’s looking to the community for some 9th inning magic.
”There’s hope if I can get help,” she said.
If you’re looking to help Yvette Aguiniga, she can be reached by email at ysa_bul@yahoo.com.
