Good Morning Sandlot Nation,

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer and kids are having a blast after working so hard this past year in school .

Sandlot Spring 2016 was to myself and Shelby and amazing season ( except for the floods - lol ) . We had so many accomplishments by our players both on and off the fields and that is what Sandlot is all about - seeing our ball players doing Gods work not only on the fields but at home , school and in the community . We had several players baptised this season and it is so special when one of them comes up to me to let me know.

We were also blessed with donations of equipment and supplies this season . Lend Lease ( VA contractors ) donated a 40 foot trailer that has been turned into an equipment and supply trailer . Our awesome crew came in and built shelves and thanks to Drew , Sean , and Dan for the supplies and expert carpentry skills. The back 1/4 of this trailer is going to be our clothing and food donation room to where any sandlotter can come and get supplies of they need it . We will finish and start stocking this room by the beginning of Fall Ball 2016 . So if you have any clothes - mainly kids (  ages 3 - 16 ) and any canned foods please set them aside and we will put out another post as to when we will be accepting these goods .

Most of yall already know this but for many who do not - One of my biggest issues is our problem with the gigantic number of children who do not eat and are not clothed in our community .

The One Project / Sandlot Baseball is getting involved and tweaking a program I heard about over a year ago that will STOP childhood hunger and lack of clothing and its really very simple . Every school in the Triad allows us to come in and use ONE room - just ONE . We will build shelves on one side and clothing racks on the other side . Every week families of these schools spend 1 to 5 dollars more a week ( thats it ) on food and have their child bring it in a bag and leave it in a drop box or designated drop area at school. These families will also do the same with any clothes that no longer fit their children. Simply bag them up and drop them off . Every school has a PTA or some sort of volunteers. These volunteers will take all donations and sort them accordingly in The ONE room . Every teacher knows the needs of his or her students and at the end of the day can walk that student into The One Room and load a backpack with clothes and food then send them home . SIMPLE - NO KID HUNGRY NO KID NOT CLOTHED . We have another step we are prepared to do . When YOU go to your childs school and present this idea - which by the way is currently in a few schools in North Carolina so its already allowed, we The ONE Project and Sandlot Baseball will bring our tools and supplies and build the shelves and clothing racks on site for that school. We are blessed to announce that since we presented this idea to our families at our awards three weeks ago we have already been contacted by a Sandlotter to do a room at a school here in Kernersville and hopefully will be setting it up by the end of July . If you or any of your friends have any building experience or any ONE of your gifts from God that can make this or any program like this work in your school then jump on it . It doesnt matter if The One Project / Sandlot Baseball does it or another group does this program  - What matters is that children get fed and clothed. I heard about a room like this over a year ago and it just makes sense - a very simple, low to nearly nothing budget project that gets CHILDRENS NEEDS MET.

Childhood hunger is a very serious issue in a majority of communities and I see so often when I go to our ball players schools to eat lunch with them. It has to be dealt with and fixed NOW . I have talked with friends and members of several churches in the Triad about this and have found another way to help . I have a philosophy that I have prayed about, asked numerous friends who I trust and value their opinion and have come to realize a problem that I know might sting to some but it needs to be addressed .

How is it that we have so many churches in our community and yet there are still hungry kids ? Why is there not a yearly community conference with every Christian leader to come together and make this go away? Some churches may be addressing this and its awesome but for those who are not - why and for those addressing the issue how can you do more ? If your program is touching and  feeding kids why are you not going to other churches and showing them how you are doing it. If a church has three programs or 10 programs how hard would it be to take 5 to 10 percent of that programs budget and touch 1 family or 10 families yearly. Take that 5 or 10 percent from each budget and build their own One room and have families come to the church . Im not saying families are not being helped but what I am saying is there are still hundreds of children who are not being fed and that is not acceptable as Christians or even non  Christians to have that in our community. Another issue that I hear from leaders is that the money and resources might be in place but the man power is lacking and I completely understand that issue - It is a basic truth in any church or organization and i hear it weekly- there is a lack of volunteers and the amount of time they put in ! Again - I am not saying there are not people who do not put in a huge amount of their time volunteering or using their gifts to help their community but on average those numbers are so very low . Look around your church or organization and notice who is dedicating their time on a consistent basis - from my views and views of those close to me its the same people year after year . I have presented an issue that some are going to take offense but I was once told by a very wise man - dont present an issue without a solution - here is the solution - evaluate your level of giving back and if you are honestly comfortable then awesome , if not do something about it - NOW . How important are the things you and your family are doing and what can you change to do more for your community ? Step out of your comfort zone and try , if it doesnt work try again , if it doesnt work try something else . Figure out what your passions or your families passions are and dive into it. Personally I cant imagine someone seeing a child or family go hungry and not have a passion for it . Find a family, ask your kids if they have a classmate who needs something and build relationships with that family. Do something but do it consistently . Serving at a local shelter once or twice a year is NOT consistent. Use the gifts God has given you and make a difference weekly . We have several key people in our organization who are behind the scenes and most of you have never met out at The Sandlot but they are using their gift/s to make a difference all year round . You can come to Sandlot at anytime and see folks with no baseball experience at all stepping way out of their comfort zone coaching or assisting and touching lives , building relationships and giving back far more than teaching a kid to throw or hit a ball . We also have those who can do more and we will be challenging them in the up coming months to do more , in fact this post is the start of that challenge .

 I know how many families that The One Project touch every year and it is amazing and we are not a very large organization in comparison to other Christian organizations . I tell families on a weekly basis that we have everything but finances and yet God still works through all of our families to touch others daily . The One Project / Sandlot baseball is going to do what we can by building The ONE Room in any school we can because that is the best way for our program to help since we have very limited resources . We have donated materials to build shelves and racks and the dedication of our families to help build these rooms. If you and your family want to get involved with The One Project and or Sandlot Baseball please contact me with questions or concerns . mike@1project.org

If you want to donate to our program please click the paypal button and donate or contact me for an address to mail a check . If you are in the area please feel free to stop by Sandlot - we will be starting Fall Ball 2016 the first week of September.

May God continue to fuel your passion and bless each of you this summer,

Coach Mike