The Miracle League of Alexandria

Saturday, May 10 was a very special day for the Miracle League of Alexandria. Celebrating Mother’s Day at the Kelley Cares Miracle Field, MLA welcomed some wonderful special guests. Everyone was given a special Mother’s Day sticker to wear as we honored the mother’s in attendance and in our families.

Mayor Alyia Gaskins of Alexandria came out to attend the game (since she was unable to attend Opening Day in April). Mayor Gaskins was able to meet the Miracle League players, parents, volunteers, supporters, Sheri Jessell (scoreboard donor), Elliott Perry (sensory bags) and the ACHS Baseball team who also were on hand for the game. Mayor Gaskins was presented by Mac Slover, Chair of MLA with a Miracle League shirt/hat and a framed certificate for her support of the league. She then threw a STRIKE to player, Rorie Winkelman and an ACHS player. Mayor Gaskins then was able to stay and cheer on the players in the game. A special thank you to Mayor Gaskins for taking the time to come out and support our miracle league players!

Also visiting from out of town was our wonderful “Dan Jessell and Loey Seligman” Scoreboard donor, Sheri Jessell. Sheri was in town visiting friends and wanted to stop by and see our players and families before departing to travel back to Florida. Thank you Sheri for coming out to visit. We love you and your amazing family!

Another special guest to attend game was Elliott Perry, who as part of his Bar Mitzvah Project, chose to support the Miracle League of Alexandria. Elliott chose as his project to provide 15 more Brian’s Sensory Bags for the league.  The bags are part of the outreach program, the MLA implemented earlier this year. In February, the MLA donated 15 sensory bags to the Recreation Department to be used in the recreation centers. The sensory bags, supplied by the MLA with input and support of ACPS Special needs instructors and TR include items such as therapy putty, nonverbal communication cards, fidget toys and calming sensory items. “As part of the Miracle League of Alexandria’s Community Outreach Program, we are very proud to collaborate with the Recreation Department staff by providing each recreation center and afterschool program with a collection of hand-picked items that can be used to stimulate or soothe a child in distress,” said Mac Slover, chair of the Miracle League of Alexandria. Distribution locations include the recreation centers at Charles Barrett, Charles Houston, Chinquapin Park, Leonard “Chick” Armstrong, Durant Center, Buddie Ford Nature Center, Nannie J. Lee, Mount Vernon, Patrick Henry, William Ramsay and the afterschool programs at John Adams, Douglas MacArthur, Ferdinand T. Day, and Frances Hammond.  

Elliott was presented with a certificate of appreciation and given a Washington Nationals jersey/hat from the MLA, was able to meet Mayor Gaskins and Sheri Jessell, but was most excited to be able to serve as an Angel in the Outfield and to hang out with the players from the ACHS team. Elliott, who is Autistic and plays in the Alexandria Little League, was extremely excited to come out and will be coming back in the future. Thank you Elliott for such a warm, kind and thoughtful gift of the sensory bags and thinking of the MLA!  You are the best!

Lastly, for the second time this season, the ACHS Baseball team under the direction of Coach Zack Hecker and his coaching staff brought out players from the JV and Varsity teams. The players and coaches were simply amazing and easily interacted with the ML players. They were fun and engaged the ML players throughout them batting or fielding. The players looked after their ML player every step of the way and even coaching them how to throw and hit. The MLA is very fortunate to have a terrific working relationship with Coach Hecker and his teams.  Thank you again Titans!  Good luck in the playoffs.

*Pictures provided by Alex Perry and Laura Fries

Lucas Ness, MLA youth player, his family and Mac Slover, Chair of MLA  traveled to the rescheduled 2024 Miracle League National All-Star Games, May 2 – 4 in Covington, Georgia at the Newton County Miracle League Field. The original date was set last October, but due to Hurricane Helena causing destruction in Georgia, the all-star games were rescheduled to this weekend. 

The yearly all-star games will feature seven games with over 120 participants from the Miracle Leagues across the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, Mexico and now Australia. This was the sixth year for the National Miracle League All-Star games (except for 2020 – due to Covid). Thus far, the MLA have taken league participants to the games in Findley, Ohio, Sioux City, Iowa, Houston, Texas, Murfreesboro, Tennessee, West Palm Beach, Florida and now in Covington, Georgia.

Lucas and his family were very excited for him to participating in the national all-stars.

It was be a weekend full of activities, games and awards for all the players. It will all begin on Friday night with the opening ceremony. Prior to the parade of teams, the Lucas and his family met his teammates from the Texas Ranger’s team. All the players, league directors and parents were provided with free food and ice cream along with free activities geared towards the players and their families.

Saturday, Lucas and his Ranger teammates played a fun and exciting game against the Cardinals Saturday morning. Lucas will had a good time playing and had a local “Angel in the Outfield” Buddie to assist him during the game. He was a very happy player and really enjoyed playing with other participants from across the country.

Saturday night, the festivities concluded with the annual awards ceremony and dinner for the players, families and Miracle League Directors. It was a wonderful end to an awesome Saturday!

The Miracle League of Alexandria was proud to be able to see another one of our participants achieve success, feel great about what they have accomplished and have the experience of a lifetime playing baseball. This will be a weekend of memories for Lucas and his family. 

Congratulations Lucas, we are all proud of you!

The 2025 National Miracle League All-Star game will be held in St. Louis, Missouri in September.

On behalf of the ACT for Alexandria team, we would like to invite you to join Alexandria’s biggest giving day on April 9 – Spring2 ACTion!

Our goal is $5,000, but we need your help to make our campaign a success, and we’ve included a few easy ways that you can support us. https://www.spring2action.org/organizations/the-miracle-league-of-alexandria

If you would like to do your own fundraising page for the MLA, you can learn how to do it here: https://www.spring2action.org/info/fundraiser-guide.

The Power Hours on April 9: $500 will be awarded to the organization with the most dollars between 11am-noon, 3-4pm, 7-8pm, and 10-11pm. Organizations are only eligible to win 2 power hour prizes – either 2 most donors, 2 most dollars or 1 most donors and 1 most dollars. Early Giving runs from March 26 – April 8.

Please share our QR code far and wide. We have Brian’s Sensory Bags to purchase and are working on many plans to support our special needs community. 

GET READY TO GIVE!

On April 9, 2025, visit spring2action.org to make a donation to your favorite nonprofit organization—The Miracle League of Alexandria! All giving will end at 11:59PM on April 9, so make sure to get your gift in on time! OR Scan the QR Code below! 

Let’s come together for our community!

April 9, 2025

Mac Slover, Chair of the MIracle League of Alexandria received the 2024 Men of Courage Award on Saturday, December 7, 2024, at the 9th Annual Men Of Courage Lifetime Achievement Awards held at the Oswald Durant Center, Alexandria, Virginia. Slover was honored for his lifetime achievement from his 30 years of service with the City of Alexandria Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities and his 14 years founding and coordinating the Miracle League of Alexandria.

The Men of Courage Lifetime Achievement Awards Program, honors outstanding community members who have dedicated their time and years to volunteer, coach and mentor Alexandria’s youth. The event is a partnership of Suggs’ Dream Work TDS, LLC, and the City of Alexandria Department of Recreation, Parks & Cultural Activities.  Mac was introduced by longtime friend and Miracle League partner, Bill Rivers.  Also in attendance supporting Mac was his son, Justin Slover, longtime partner, Diane Ford, MLA members – Lindsey Swanson and Laura Fries and Deputy Director of RPCA – Recreation Services – Laura Durham. Additonally, the Men of Courage honored Gregory Baldwin, Harold Hughes, Kevin Harris and Don Hayes.  Following the ceremony a reception with food was held.

The Men of Courage Vision

The Men of Courage Award is presented to men who have shown the divine order of putting family first. They speak the positive messages, guide youth and provide heartfelt action and dedication to the community.  

Men of Courage always lead by example and they will leave a legacy of love, courage, and service. The Men of Courage Program was inspired by the 2011 film entitled “Courageous” written by Alex and Stephen Kendrick.  

Alexandria Gazette Packet article (page 7)