Sunday, January 27, 2019

Donations, donations, and more donations

Week 3

Tuesday 

It's only been 3 weeks, but it feels like it's been months that I have been preparing for the upcoming Miracle Bash charity event. On Tuesday I drove down to Chatham Center downtown to pick up a donation from the Pittsburgh Penguins Charities. Once I got to the office, I added some more items to the online auction database, and created the tickets for the Miracle Bash for our sponsors of the event. We also decided to create a "yearbook" for the end of the of the baseball season this summer, so the executive director and I researched possible yearbook design companies to use as well as purchased a professional camera for the organization.

Thursday

Thursday I added a few more items to the auction database, and also worked on finding last minute donations. Back in December, a few Miracle League volunteers walked around to local businesses handing out donation forms and inquiring about donating to the 2019 Miracle Bash. We made an excel spreadsheet of all the businesses, and I went back through and called the places we did not hear back from. It was actually a great success, and we received a handful of last minute donations.

Saturday

This was week two of Muscles for Miracles, and the founder & president of the organization, Sean Casey stopped by! This week, the athletes all received a pack of resistance bands to take home with them, and the trainers at Teleo showed the athletes and their parents how they can be used at home. On the baseball side, the athletes worked on their swings in the batting cages, and also learned the proper way to field a ground ball. I spoke to a few of the parents, and they all expressed how much fun their kids were having at this camp. One dad told me that his son wants to look into continuing this training even after the 6 weeks of Muscles for Miracles. 

I so grateful to be a part of this organization and it's really exciting to see these athletes learn & excel.

Monday, January 21, 2019

The Start of Muscles for Miracles

Week 2

As we continue to get closer to the Miracle Bash, the Executive Director and I worked hard this week on uploading new auction items to the website, going to meetings, and getting other little things ready for the big day. This week was also the first week for Muscles for Miracles, a training program for our competitive athletes.

Tuesday

On Tuesday, Tim and I did a lot of running around. He introduced me to one of the workers at the local UPS store because I will be visiting the store an awful lot to drop of packages in the future. We also took a trip to the Southside, and walked door to door to different bars and restaurants looking for donations. We had some luck with a few giving business owners, but it was a hard task selling people to give to our organization.

Thursday

Thursday morning Tim and I drove to the venue of the Miracle Bash and met with the woman who owns the fire hall as well as the in-house catering company. We decided on the menu, the amount of tables, and created a diagram for the room. After the meeting we headed back to the office where I uploaded a few items to the website, created door prize baskets, and started to design a Miracle League poster for the gym underneath the office space.



Saturday

Saturday was the first day for Muscles for Miracles. This is a new program started by the Miracle League this year, and we teamed up with the owners of TELEO Performance, who owns a gym and training facility below the Miracle League office. We have 2 sessions from 1-2pm and 2-3pm that has 16 kids per session. I think that it was a great start, and the athletes seemed to really enjoy themselves. I got to help with registration and then I got to help in the batting cages. 

This was my first interaction with the athletes, and I cannot explain how amazing my experience was. I was really impressed with a lot of their abilities, and I am excited to watch them progress in the following weeks of this training program. 

Monday, January 14, 2019

First Day on the Job

Week 1

My first week with the Miracle League of the South Hills was just as exciting as I had hoped it would be. The Miracle of the South Hills is a non-profit organization that supports kids and adults with disabilities. Mostly focused on baseball, the organization raises money to run a baseball league for those who might have never had the chance to play the sport. This organization was started by Sean Casey, a former Major League Baseball first baseman who played for the Cleveland Indians, Cincinnati Reds, Pittsburgh Pirates, Detroit Tigers, and Boston Red Sox. He is currently a broadcaster and commentator for the MLB Network.                                                                             

 The Mission of the Miracle League of the South Hills is:


  • To provide every child and adult, the opportunity to play baseball
  • To promote teamwork, sportsmanship, and respect for all
  • To foster peer relationships through player and "buddy" interactions, so that barriers to friendship and opportunity are removed

Tuesday

On my first day, I went into the office and Tim, the Executive Director of the organization, gave me a checklist of tasks to get done for that day. We are knee deep in preparing for their largest charity event of the year, the Miracle Bash. The Miracle Bash is an annual event for the Miracle League of the South Hills, where tickets are sold to the banquet and there is a large silent auction. All proceeds of the night go directly back to the organization. On Tuesday, I got to take pictures of the new donations that we received and add them to the database that we use for the online silent auction. I was also given the task to reach out to semi-local businesses do get donations from in order to create a few "stay-cation" packages. I sent emails to places such as the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH and Splash Lagoon in Erie, PA. I also took over the Instagram account, and now until the date of the Miracle Bash, I will be in charge of creating content to post about the donations that are listed on our online auction for the event.

Thursday

I did a lot of running around on Thursday. Before I got to the office, Tim had me drive to a few locations around Pittsburgh to pick up donations. I stopped by Lawrenceville to get a package from the Roberto Clemente Museum, and out in Bridgeville to get a donation from a local golf course. Once I got to the office I put the new donations onto the auction site, and helped get some things ready for Muscles for Miracles, a winter fitness camp for the athletes that starts on 1/19. I also got to put together a few signs that will be used as decorations for the Miracle Bash, and take photos to post to the Instagram account.



This upcoming week will be a lot of the same things, as we continue to prepare for the Miracle Bash in February. Muscles for Miracles starts this Saturday, and I am most looking forward to meeting the athletes and getting to work with them!