Bulls Kickoff $500,000 Pledge Drive for Charity

The Durham Bulls Youth Athletic League kicked off $500,000 pledge drive with the opening of the ninth season of the DBYAL on Sat, April 26, 2002. Dubbed "Field of Dreams," the fundraising effort will fuel the plan to renovate two baseball fields in Northeast Central Durham. The fields, near intersection of Liberty Street & Hyde Park Avenues, will serve as home base to the league.

Ned Grossman and Steve Weinstein, fathers of two Duke students who are strong advocates of the league, started the drive by a pledging a challenge $50,000; the amount must be matched in order to be donated. Several other early pledges are also helping to kick start the campaign. The Bulls major league affiliate, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, have contributed $5,000, McDonald's has pledged $2,500, and Capitol Broadcasting Company, along with the Durham Bulls, have committed to leading the fundraising effort.

The Bulls are holding 100th Anniversary Jersey auctions on the last Friday home game of every month, jerseys worn by the players on Fridays. On Saturday, August 10th, the Bulls will host the 2nd Annual DBYAL Charity Auction on Saturday, August 10th, with memorabilia from the Bulls and other sports entities.

Next to a 96-block area chosen for a Hope IV grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development in inner-city Durham, the fields will help improve one of the Bull city's most neglected and impoverished neighborhoods.

The DBYAL is a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the lives of Durham's inner city children by providing high-quality sports recreation program. Creating in 1994, thousands of children have been able to participate in Little League Baseball and Soccer through the program.