Thanks to so many of our generous readers, the Daily Breeze ball drive this year turned out to be the most successful in the newspaper’s 20-year history of contributing sports balls to the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Los Angeles Harbor each holiday season.
This year, the Daily Breeze ball drive generated contributions equaling more than 3,000 sports balls, ensuring that every child who participates in a Boys & Girls Club program in the Harbor Area will have a new ball to play with over the holiday break.
Among the children benefiting from your kind donations was 13-year-old Eveny Umaña from San Pedro, who said she was looking forward to getting her hands on a new softball this year.
“I’m going to go outside and play with my friends,” Umaña said. “It’s fun to socialize and play outside.”
Studies show that playing with sports balls has a profound effect on young children in terms of socializing, hand-eye coordination, and just getting them outside and away from television, computer or smartphone screens.
The roughly 2,600 young people who visit a Boys & Girls Club location in Wilmington, San Pedro and Harbor City, along with several other school sites, are among the most disadvantaged in the region; a 2017 study showed 38% of children under age 6 in the Harbor Area lived in poverty.
All the hard work coordinating the @DailyBreezeNews ball drive has paid off seeing the smiling faces of these kids at the Boys & Girls Clubs of LA Harbor today. This year we collected more than 3,000 sports balls, our most ever in 20 years. @tbray pic.twitter.com/51hxbBZDYD
— David Rosenfeld (@RosenfeldReport) December 20, 2019
On Thursday, Dec. 19, the Daily Breeze ball drive culminated with a show of appreciation at the Boys & Girls Clubs’ San Pedro location. About 100 recipients gathered in a room filled with some of the 3,000 balls collected this year, along with those who made the ball drive possible.
“I would just like to take this opportunity to say ‘thank you’ to all of the generous donors to this year’s ball drive,” said Mike Lansing, executive director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the L.A. Harbor. “As we are opening up our 20th club site, this great support has allowed us to share the giving spirit with so many more youth this year than ever before.
“Happy Holidays to all of the contributors,” he added. “You have made thousands of deserving youth very happy.”
Big 5 Sporting Goods, UNIFY Financial Credit Union, First Bank, Danny Kole of Kole Imports, Farmers Insurance Agent Michael Correa and Palos Verdes Estates resident Scott Chernoff were among those who made notable contributions. Without these individuals and the people behind the efforts at these companies, the Daily Breeze ball drive would not have been possible this year.
An especially big thanks also goes to our readers — who never fail to come through. In the last week since we announced the ball drive was in danger of falling drastically short, our readers stepped up to purchase and contribute roughly 1,000 balls. Each and every person who contributed a sports ball this year is greatly appreciated.
“The gratitude of the Daily Breeze team is off the charts this year,” said Senior Editor Tom Bray. “Our new partners, Big 5 Sporting Goods, UNIFY Financial Credit Union and First Bank shared their incredible energy and creativity — and made it so much easier to donate.”
“And, of course, our sincere thanks to our readers,” Bray added. “The South Bay always comes through for us.
From our family to yours, we wish you a very happy holidays.
