By Garin Williams

I am writing this article to thank the dedicated corps of volunteers that selflessly give their time and resources to ensure that the youth of our community are provided with a safe, fun and healthy outlet that teaches responsibility, teamwork and obviously good sportsmanship.

The hours and effort that it takes for such an undertaking can be taxing, but if you ask any volunteer and/or board member how they do it, I’m sure you’ll receive the same response; we do it for the kids.

The Sequim Little League operates solely on the hard work of parents, volunteers and local businesses that share the same mission for the kids of the community. We (Sequim Little League) strive to provide the parents and kids a memorable experience while involved with our program and we are honored that parents and families trust that we will provide a positive atmosphere for their children to thrive. This is an awesome responsibility that no board member or volunteer takes lightly.

In order to continue to provide a quality product for our kids, we are constantly challenged to maintain our facility and gear. We recently suffered a devastating blow that has set us back a bit. We have discovered that our equipment space has been invaded by rodents. The equipment stored in this space is the protective gear that players utilize to play the game of baseball and softball.

Some of the equipment was destroyed completely and the entire space was filled with rodent droppings. We (the Little League board) refused to issue any gear from this particular space.

The board is now faced with the daunting task of replacing much (or all) of the protective equipment stored in this space. New equipment has been ordered, but we (the league) did not have the funds to replace all of the equipment. The board has reached out to neighboring leagues (Port Townsend Little League and East Jefferson Little League) for assistance. Not surprisingly, both leagues have offered any assistance, and/or equipment needs that we have.

The SLL board is asking the community we serve to assist us in making lifelong memories for boys and girls in our community by donating time, materials or cash donations. We have set up an account at First Federal for cash donations.

You can inquire about this account at any First Federal branch.

Volunteering labor and materials also is greatly appreciated. We want to provide a venue that families take pride in when they watch their children having fun and learning. For opportunities to volunteer, please see our website, www.sequimlittleleague.com or find us on Facebook.

In our quest to deliver the best product for our kids, we must express our sincere gratitude to the Olympic View Community Foundation. This group of caring, concerned citizens provided SLL with a very generous donation that is giving us a head start on acquiring new equipment for these great kids.

It’s so exciting to realize that there is an organization that shares the same vision for our kids and steps up to help them out, we are extremely grateful. Sequim Little League serves about 220 players on 18 baseball/softball teams.

If you have questions about how you can assist us in our goal of supporting our youth, please visit our website or Facebook page, or feel free to contact me directly.

Garin Williams is president of the Sequim Little League.