Bayonne Babe Ruth & Cal Ripken Baseball

MAKE A KID SMILE IS BACK FOR IT'S 8TH YEAR 
Hello everyone, the other day I announced that the 8th Annual MAKE A KID SMILE campaign will be back again for another year helping out our less fortunate kids. To some, you may have heard the story before but it's always fun to get into the Christmas & Holiday spirit & tell it again or maybe to inspire some new folks that might not know and would like to get involved. 
I love telling the story....Over eight years ago I was driving by the 11th street field on Ave E in Bayonne. It was a cold blustery afternoon the day before Thanksgiving. I noticed 3 kids playing a make shift game of baseball. I had to pull my car over and watch them because what caught my eye was that the kids were all without jackets and they did not even have the essentials. They had bases made out of paper bags and they had one baseball and a wooden bat that seemed to be way too small for these kids but nonetheless, they were pitching and hitting and running the bases with no baseball gloves & still having the time of their lives. It was quite obvious to me they came from families that did not have much and so I got out of my car..I yelled over to the boys to come on over to the fence..Being a coach myself I always have baseball equipment in my car...I threw over to them half a dozen new baseballs and 4 bases that I had in the car and said enjoy. At that moment, and I kid you not, it was one that I will remember for the rest of my life. Those kids smiles & appreciation ( where the name Make a Kid Smile came from ) were as precious as any that I had ever witnessed or been apart of my entire life.The kids were thanking me so much over and over like I was giving them Gold. Yes, all I did for these poor kids was give them 6 baseballs and 4 old bases that I had in my car and they thought it was the GREATEST thing that ever happened to them. I got in my car and remember feeling an incredible desire to do something more...I remember telling my wife when I got home what had happened and I was repeating to her over and over the same story and she chuckled on how that little something put me in such a good mood..I got on my computer like I am doiing right now and started typing up a long email ( haha sorry but I love telling the story ) to all the parents in Bayonne Cal Ripken Baseball league along with all my family and friends outside of the league including people where I work.

I told them the story, explained that something so small to us could mean everything to some not so well off kids and I then came up with an idea ...I asked everyone who would listen if they could make a donation...whatever size, any dollar amount or whatever they could afford, it did not matter...my goal was to raise maybe a few hundred dollars and with that money I would take several kids who could use the help to our league sponsor, ( at the time ) Foot Locker here in Bayonne and we would with everyone's help buy sneakers for the needy kids....but what happened over the next few hours and upcoming days was something out of a fairy tale. Instead of a few hundred dollars the donations were pouring in in all size denominations..my email box was lighting up like a Christmas tree ( haha ) and thus THE MAKE A KID SMILE CAMPAIGN was officially created
We ended up raising $ 3,800 the first year which included a $ 1,000 donation from FootLocker our initial spomsor and had over 35 families that first year come to their store. We helped out so many families of all shapes, sizes, colors and religions, kids chosen from every public school in Bayonne. The kids were able to get brand new sneakers and or boots etc and have the time of their lives doing it. It not only made their Christmas and holiday special for them but everyone who was apart of it, will remember it forever.
Eight years later it has grown to something really special ( over $ 35,000 & hundreds of kids later ) and over the past 4 years MODELL'S SPORTING GOODS has been our new sponsor/ partner with this great cause, making a nice donation of$ 500 donation to kick the 2014 Make A Kid smile campaign off.

I have the stories from some of these poor families that would break your heart and Smiles that will melt your insides. We feel we have the PERFECT system down, where the kids who need the help get it. As I receive the donations, I reach out to each and every public school in Bayonne and deal directly with the Principals ( who I know on a first name basis ) and through their recommendations I reach out to the kids and families going through some tough times and who can use the help. Just some examples such as the following... Families, who may have lost a parent or two, families who might have lost everything due to a fire or kids who are being raised by grandparents or guardians because maybe their parent is in jail or has taken off and left the kids with no parents...We had a sad story two years ago where domestic violence happened in a home where the abusive dad shot and killed the mom right in front of the kid and then took the gun to himself leaving behind a 9 year old with no parents...Going through the schools help ensure we are helping the kids who need it the most because NOONE knows the kids and their families and their plights more then the TEACHERS & THEIR PRINCIPALS. This also makes the folks who are making the donations feel confident that their gift is going to kids who really need the help and while doing so know that 100% of their donation goes to the kids.
Unlike many charities where their are admin fees or salaries of the folks running it, OUR MAKE A KID SMILE campaign uses it all for the kids and is run by volunteers like me. Over the years we have also helped numerous kids battling cancer or other sicknesses including one boy who had like 18 surgeries during his young life or anothher whose dad had Lou Gherig disease and whose wife could not afford gifts as the doctor bills had them almost losing their home..
As the donations come in, I call the schools for more kids names...Each child gets a chance to come along for a fun ride on the lightrail over to Modells in Jersey City on December 21st Each beautiful kid will be able to spend $ 100 each and can pick out anything in the store and that their hearts desire. More donations, mean more happy phone calls to tell some new kids, you are going to Modell's for a day of fun and excitement.

On behalf of the kids, Thanks to all of you for reading and listening to this LONG story. To all of those who donated in the past, whether it was Cal Ripken parents, coaches, my family or friends from where I work and outside of the league and even total strangers who don't even live in Bayonne any longer which included a large donation the last two years from a former Bayonne resident who read about our campaign in the Community news, THANK YOU SO MUCH. Over the years we even had a few kids in our league empty their piggy banks and one boy Matthew Scepkowski who few years ago saw his dad make a donation to me on his front porch and wanted to give me one on hs own, went into his room and came out with a $ 2.00 donation in an envelope with a smile face on it. That's as PRICELESS as you can get. ...Won't you consider helping this year, spreading the word to co-workers and friends and family who also might want to help?  I can guarantee the feeling you get knowing you helped some less fortunate kids during the Christmas and Holiday season, will stay with you forever. The day of the event is December 21st so we officially start today. Donations can be mailed to Bayonne Cal Ripken Baseball- po box 3260 -Bayonne, NJ 07002.

On the memo of the check, put make a kid smile. If you rather not mail and give to me in person, I will start my daily pickups tomorrow thru December 20th, just inbox me or email me at mmiselis@aol.com

Thanks again and over the next several weeks, you will see the beautiful pics ( courtesy of lapinski photo ) of the kids and their smiles and some more stories from years past to brighten up your Christmas and Holiday season.
" We can't help everyone, but everyone can help someone."
~ Ronald Regan