Baseballtown Charities Helps Bring Baseball to Oakbrook Park Homes

Baseballtown Charities is helping to bring baseball and softball to the Oakbrook Park homes.
Saturday, August 3rd, featured the Grand Opening of the refurbished Oakbrook Park Baseball Field. The event included R-Phils players, R-Phils mascots, free food, local dignitaries, a ceremony, and the opportunity for Olivet Boys and Girls Club participants to take turns hitting. It also served as the start of a new FUN Baseball and Softball training program at the field for children ages 5-9.
The event was made possible by Baseballtown Charities in collaboration with Reading Housing Authority and Olivet Boys and Girls Club.
"Youth programs are a critical element of RHA's longstanding history of providing services that support health, community, and self-sufficiency," said Stacey Keppen, Executive Director of Reading Housing Authority. "We couldn't be more excited about this partnership, and are sincerely grateful to our friends at Olivets, the Fightin Phils, and all the partners who have committed to this initiative."
The FUN Baseball and Softball Training program will be implemented for Olivet Boys and Girls Club members by Baseballtown Charities Rip It for Life, and by Rip It Batting Cages and Baseball & Softball Skills Training Instructors. To participate in the FUN baseball and softball sessions, children ages 5-9 who are members of the Olivet Boys and Girls Club can simply sign up.
The program began on August 3rd, and runs for several weeks through August at the Oakbrook Park Baseball Field. There will be no charge to participate for Olivet Boys and Girls Club members.
Attendees at the Grand Opening also enjoyed free hot dogs, thanks to Berks Packing, Savage 61, and White Star Tours and Travel and free water and juice complements of United Towing, Savage 61, and White Star Tours and Travel.
The Oakbrook Homes is a 530-unit general-occupancy family public housing development that is owned and managed by Reading Housing Authority, offering 1 to 5-bedroom, garden-style apartments for individuals and families. Oakbrook residents may receive assistance with a range of health, education, social, and economic opportunities from the RHA Department of Resident Services.
In 2002, the Reading Fightin Phils (then "Reading Phillies") established Baseballtown Charities, a non-profit 501 (c) (3) chairitable organization founded to keep baseball alive in Reading, so local youth can benefit from the many life lessons the game teaches.