BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — In honor of legendary baseball player Jackie Robinson, the Willie Hutch Jones Educational & Sports Program is bringing major league baseball back to the inner city of Buffalo.
This summer, the organization is doing this by establishing a free reviving baseball program.
Several board members call for youth of all racial and socioeconomic backgrounds to pitch, hit, and run.
“There were baseball fields all over. We lost that somehow just like we lost our community centers, and now we want to fill that gap and bring baseball back,” says Leroi Johnson, a chairman of Willie Hutch Jones Educational & Sports Program.
An alum of the Willie Hutch Jones Educational & Sports Program also vocalizes the impact the program has on its students.
“The level of dedication is sometimes necessary to chase your dreams and break down barriers, and that’s life,” says Chris Hayes, alumni of the organization. “That’s every day, and that’s something that has really helped me succeed and something that I took away from that program.”
As the summer gets closer, several of these board members hope many inner-city kids can pick up a bat and out their phones.
“But in reviving baseball in providing opportunities for people who don’t have them, it takes all of us,” says Charles Wilson, a Willie Hutch Jones Educational & Sports Program member. “Everybody got a part, everybody got a role.”
If you’re interested in signing your child to the summer program, click here.
