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