On Tuesday, Deer Valley little leaguer Simon Friedman said it feels like Christmas morning.
“I’m so excited,” said Simon. “I saw this bat for four hundred dollars online.”
The league in which the 9-year-old plays was contacted by high school junior KJ Kovaly and two friends who were running a baseball equipment donation drive called Giving Back 2 the Game.
It's a donation that aims to put the necessary and often times expensive items into the hands of children who couldn’t afford it on their own.
“Each league will be able to take home bats, bags, helmets, catchers gear, gloves of any variety,” said KJ, as he walked around bags and bags of equipment.
KJ and his team hosted collection days for the past month and the community came through in a big way by donating thousands of items that are now heading to four little leagues across the state and hundreds of kids from low-income backgrounds.
“After talking to some of these leagues, you never realize how little they might have,” said KJ.
“Routinely kids come to us, and they don’t have gloves, they don’t have cleats, they don’t have a bat, they just don’t have all the gear,” said Angelia Harbison.
Harbison is the president of the Deer Valley Little League. She says what these kids do have is a desire to play baseball and in her mind it’s an opportunity every child should have.
“This can outfit our entire league, it’s amazing,” said Harbison, pointing to the donated items.
For first baseman Simon, his excitement comes from a place of understanding, growing up in a low-income home himself.
“We couldn’t afford anything, we were using hockey pads for catchers gear and sticks for bats, and so when I see this it just reminds me of what we went through and all the kids who don’t have to go through that anymore,” said Simon.
That’s exactly why so many businesses and community members got involved in the campaign, to begin with, only ending in a home run effort thanks to the generosity of so many.
“Our appreciation is through the roof, without you guys, we would be nowhere close to where we are today, so we just thank you guys so much,” said KJ.