WELCOME TO THE KIWANIS MIRACLE LEAGUE AT PRINCIPAL PARK
529 SW 5th, downtown Des Moines (just west of Principal Park)
Monday, July 6, starts our last week of games for our Spring 2009 Season, with a double-header scheduled on Monday:
Royals vs. Red Sox 6 PM Cards vs. Cubs 7 PM
Special Treat--The Iowa Barnstormers will be our "angels in the outfield". Come join the fun, even if your team isn't playing!
Watch here (or call 280.5017) for news about last minute schedule changes due to the weather. Click on "Our 2009 Season" for your particular game time.
Lawn chairs welcome. We hope you don't need your umbrellas for rain, but consider bringing them to shade you from the sun!
Over 100 kids played ball on our Opening Day--and what a fun event! Watch for pictures & stories here. Still want to register? We still have room for more players. Hurry! Registration starting soon for our Fall 2009 season. Go to "Our 2009 Season" button on the left for further details! And click below for 2009 Opening Day video.
2008
Nearly 400 joined us for special ceremonies and nearly 60 kids played their first game on our new field. Miracles happened with smiles all around.
Join with us in celebrating the building of Iowa's first Miracle League Field in downtown Des Moines. Our goal is to make the game of baseball within reach of EVERY child, regardless of their abilities. Partnering with the Iowa Cubs and the Greater Des Moines Leadership Class of 2007-08, we've created a "field of dreams" across from Principal Park, where the Iowa Cubs play. Thanks to a significant gift of $100,000, kids will be playing on the Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines Field. And thanks to a significant gift of $111,000 from the Richard O. Jacobson Foundation, we will be building our "phase 2" covered pavillion, hopefully ready for our 2009 fall season.
Our mission is to offer accessible recreational opportunities for children with special needs so that they can participate in a team sport as a member of an organized baseball league. Not only will we provide an opportunity for kids with special needs to play baseball, but we hope to also engage the central Iowa community in our efforts, through financial commitments to the construction of the special facility AND unique volunteer opportunities through our "buddy" system. We cannot change or cure the medical issues life has dealt our children with disabilities. What we can do is provide them with an opportunity to experience the joy and benefits that come from playing our national pastime — baseball! We truly believe that
every child deserves a chance to play baseball!
Last year, we were far enough into our construction that we were able to hold opening ceremonies on September 28 and kids got to play 5 games in our "exhibition season", THANKS to the many volunteers who served as buddies, grilled hot dogs, prepared the site for games, and did general clean-up. We will have numerous volunteer opportunities going forward. Please check out the volunteer opportunities on our volunteer page or contact our volunteer coordinators, Joyce Byrne, at joycelbyrne@aol.com, or Betsy Flood, at miracleleague@downtowndesmoineskiwanis.org if you want to be a "buddy" or Tyler Riley, at tylerr@fehdm.com if you can lend a hand at the site. See details at "VOLUNTEERS NEEDED NOW>"
We continue to need YOUR support! Please consider making a contribution at whatever level you can. (More information is available on our "donations/contribution" page.) And consider volunteering for our spring and fall seasons in 2009 (see our "volunteer" page). You'll be glad you did! And THANK YOU.
Here's progress on our site! Concrete walls of the concession/restroom building are up and steel trusses are in place. Since this picture was taken, the blue steel roof is finished. We look just like the Iowa Cubs across the street! Most of the interior painting is done. Electrical and plumbing work is complete; power, sanitation and water are now hooked up. The Musco lights have been turned on and they are brilliant! Our scoreboard, permanent flag poles, and block entrance were completed before the first snow fell in late 2008. Once the grading is completed and concrete poured, we will be able to get at the planned landscaping and perimeter fencing, And then our specially designed art sculpture by John Brommel will be installed. Many thanks to our MANY "in kind" contributors who are helping to make our field a reality for central Iowa kids.
Now you can view construction progress every week. Just click below to view our progress from week to week!
