Oil City Junior Baseball received an equipment grant in 2021 as part of the Little League and DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation Sports Matter Equipment Grant Program. For this initiative PIFBS sent out 3,560 kits to 366 Little Leagues across the country. The leagues would then give those kits to kids most in need of gear to help provide support to families.
Located in Oil City, PA, the league previously applied for and received an equipment grant in 2020 as part of the Pirates Charities and Tull Family Foundation program, which provided baseball and softball gear to 20 leagues in Pennsylvania and one program in West Virginia.
The league covers the Oil City School District, where more than 50% its families live below the poverty level. The grant allowed the league to keep its fees low and continue to provide a positive experience for local youth. Oil City Junior Baseball served 200 kids ages 5 to 16 at the time of their application.
The grant allowed the league to upgrade some of its outdated equipment, and provide gear to low income families so that most kids had their own bat for the season. They were also able to give their teams new catchers gear, as the old equipment was ill-fitting and damaged.
· Years Involved:2020, 2021