[ad_1]
In Ventura County, the Santa Paula Little League is wrapping up one other house run of a season.
“We schedule our common video games from March to mid-Might, with the playoffs after that,” says Mark Chisholm, a industrial pilot whose personal son performs within the league.
Nonetheless within the working for the pennant are the Santa Paula Rockies. FGS sponsored the group this yr, persevering with a beloved custom of supporting groups in agricultural communities. It’s the corporate’s personal means of giving again. Chisholm, who helped safe the sponsorship, has an analogous want to assist. At any time when he’s not within the cockpit, there’s a superb likelihood you’ll discover him on the ballpark, the place he’s been spending a number of months supporting Santa Paula Little League as a board member.
“I grew up right here,” he says. “My uncle performed the primary yr of Santa Paula Little League in 1956, on the identical area we nonetheless use in the present day. Again in my day, you wouldn’t have a group referred to as ‘The Rockies’ — as an alternative, groups could be named after their sponsors. You’d go to a recreation, and it might be ‘Harry’s Automobile Care’ enjoying in opposition to ‘The Knights of Columbus.’ It actually concerned the group, and in an effort to get a few of that again, I started hitting up extra native companies for group sponsorships. We nonetheless have the Rockies, however this yr, it’s the Fruit Growers Provide Rockies.”
On the Rockies’ video games this season, attendees may look towards the outfield and see an FGS banner hanging on the outfield fence. It’s not nearly promoting and title recognition, although. Sponsoring a group in a small city like Santa Paula could make a giant distinction for the gamers. “It helps maintain prices down and enhance the fields,” Chisholm explains. “We’re a non-profit group, so each bit of cash we increase goes proper again into the league itself. We’ll use that cash for uniforms, the snack bar, and tools like baseballs and catchers’ gear. The children nonetheless pay a registration payment, however with these sponsorships, we attempt to maintain that low.”
$20,000 was raised from all sponsorships this yr. Lots of these sponsors, together with a soil-sampling firm and an avocado farm, additionally work in agriculture. Chisholm says that cash helps fund an inspirational expertise for the younger ballplayers.
“Staff sports activities can train so many life classes,” he notes. “Perhaps these youngsters received’t play within the main leagues, however they’ll nonetheless discover ways to win, learn how to lose, learn how to undergo adversity, learn how to get damage and get again up.”
Comparable classes are being taught in Tulare County, the place FGS can be sponsoring the Woodlake Tigers. The highschool baseball group just lately climbed to Number one within the East Sequoia League, with the championship a number of weeks away.
Associated
[ad_2]
Source link
