St. John's University Athletics
St. John's Volleyball Participates In The Miracle League
5/24/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
QUEENS, N.Y. - Head coach Joanne Persico and members of the St. John's volleyball team extended their hands to the Long Island community recently, participating in The Miracle League of Long Island, a baseball association for individuals with disabilities.
The league's mission is to establish and sustain baseball programs for people of all ages with disabilities. The objective being to provide an opportunity for those individuals to experience the joy and benefits that come from playing our national pastime.
"Each week we reach out to different communities, school districts and colleges to come down to the Miracle League field and be a BUDDY to the players for the day," said the Miracle League of Long Island's President, Kristine Fitzpatrick.
"They are assigned a player and help that player hit the ball off the tee, navigate around the bases and protect them in field. Volunteers are a big part of my program, said Fitzpatrick. "We have a wonderful BUDDY program. BUDDY stands for Because Unbelievable Dedication Deserves You."
"Being an alum of St. John's University and a former track and field coach, it makes me so proud to see the young athletes come all the way out East on a Saturday to work with the children," said Fitzpatrick. "When the STJ van pulled up and the sea of red walked up to the field, the kids faces lit up! It's a great feeling to still have such an amazing connection with St. John's."
Persico, along with returners Taryn Bohan, Jordan Haskins, Kerri Johnson, Sabina Papala, Paulina Piegza, Darlene Ramdin and Korina Yee all participated in the event.
"Our experience with The Miracle League was humbling and life changing," said Persico. "The team did a fantastic job of keeping the energy up throughout the day to assist the children who were doing their best to experience a day out on the baseball field. They're ordinary kids that are doing extraordinary things. I'm very proud of the team and my friend Kristine Fitzpatrick for creating this amazing organization."
"I was speaking with Coach Persico about my league and she automatically wanted to be a part of it," said Fitzpatrick. "I'm very thankful to the STJ volleyball team for coming down and making a difference." Persico is currently on the league's executive board.
If you would like to donate, volunteer for a day or be a part of the league in any way, visit www.MLLongIsland.com and fill out a registration form.
