Listen: In putting together the different Safe Haven focuses for this year’s Safe Streets, Healthy Kids, I knew there would be quite a bit of overlap in the themes. If we look at our first three weeks alone, Sports and Athletics, Home and the Family, and Education and Learning, many of the stories could be shifted between categories depending on which facet of the story is being foregrounded.
That being said, the first posted story for Education and Learning is a piece about baseball. While the connection may not be apparent at first, the youngsters I met aren’t exactly your typical little league team — many of the kids probably hadn’t given much thought to playing baseball prior to joining this team, and a few hadn’t even picked up a baseball when they came to the sport.
Above are three of the Operation Dream Eagles — Jose, Cedric, and Tally (from left to right), Beckum Stapleton Little League’s newest team. They were formed when Operation Dream founder and director Rodney Bourrage (listen for more from him and Operation Dream in the coming weeks) decided to take his many years of coaching baseball and strong ties with Beckum Stapleton to the deserving youth at Operation Dream. And while they may be new to the baseball diamond, they’re making the most of their experience and learning quite a bit at the same time.
Get to know three of the Eagles, as well as one of their young and talented trainers, as they share their first steps into America’s, and their new past time: see podcast below.
A short out take — after the main interview, we talked about some of their favorite outings with Operation Dream. A fishing trip to Montana, Wisconsin topped the list:
To learn more about Operation Dream and how you can get involved, check out their website . Also, information on Beckum Stapleton Little League can be found here .