USABL (The United State Amateur Baseball League) has youth baseball teams all over New Jersey with players ranging in age from 7-18 years old.
The heaviest concentration of these teams are in the coastal communities surrounding Point Pleasant. In the wake of Superstorm Sandy and the nasty nor'easter that hit just days after, the 584 fall baseball teams that would have been enjoying the playoffs had to forgo their games. A substantial amount of the families participating in the league had suffered extreme loss and the recent weather wreaked havoc on the playing fields.
Rather than asking for a refund, all 10,000 USABL players decided to donate the money that would have been spent on umpires, championship awards, etc. to the NJ Sandy Relief Fund, an organization chaired by First Lady Mary Pat Christie. Together, USABL members donated a total of $35,000 to the organization. USABL presented a check during a reception at Drumthwacket (photo attached).
While many other larger entities such as Hess, NY Giants, and Quick Check, have made significantly larger donations to the NJ Sandy Relief Fund, USABL's donation came from members of the community who were directly effected by the storm. Many of these teams hail from Keansburg, Toms River, Barnegat, Brick, Manasquan, and Atlantic Highlands, which were completely devastated after Sandy. Despite the personal loss many of these families endured, they still chose to contribute to the relief effort and help their fellow residents.
USABL looks forward to continuing their support of the Sandy relief effort in 2013 and is anxious to get back on the baseball field with Opening Day coming up on April 7th.
