After a seven-year hiatus, a local baseball tournament in support of Children’s Camps International (CCI) is returning this weekend.
Tomm Penner, who works in the marketing department with CCI, says the tournament is back thanks to one person in particular.
"We had a guy [named Steve] who missed it. He used to play in it,” says Penner. “He’s just this amazing guy who came to us and said, ‘let's do it again.’”
Penner says that he and his colleagues were glad to run with the idea.
“We all supported him in it — we just had this amazing guy who's passionate about Children’s Camps International, passionate about baseball, and loves to connect with people,” he says. “We couldn't have done it without him. When you have amazing people in the community who just selflessly say, ‘I don't want anything for this. I just want to help you. I really, legitimately just love what you do,’ . . . that's what a charity runs on.”
The baseball tournament begins at 7 p.m. tonight (August 2nd) at the Parkland baseball diamonds and runs until Sunday afternoon.
While it is too late to register for the tournament, there is still plenty of baseball for the community to watch.
“The playing in the ball tournament is for some people but coming out to watch it and cheer them on and see them hit homers left and right [is for everyone],” says Penner. “We’re having a home run derby. It's going to be fun to watch, so if baseball is your thing at all, or if sitting outside and [cracking sunflower seeds] is your thing at all, or if you just want to come grab some food from the food truck, that supports us as well.”
Penner says that some prizes will also be given away at the tournament.
Among the prizes are two bicycles — one to be won by a baseball player, and one for the community members who attend the tournament.
There will also be a 50/50 for each of the three days of the event which will see one lucky winner going home with half the money raised that day. The other half will go to CCI. To add to the fundraising at the tournament, there will also be a food truck (run by Sixteen13 Ministry) selling kebabs, hamburgers, and hot dogs. These funds will be split evenly between CCI and Sixteen13 Ministry.
The baseball tournament this weekend will support CCI in its mission to provide day-camp opportunities to children in other countries.
“To sum it up, what we do is we work with churches in developing countries to do kind of vacation bible school day camps,” says Penner. “We connect with kids through pastors and through youth leaders who are volunteers, and then they follow up with the kids and they do [a] weekly catch up with them, kind of like Sunday school here. They do it on Saturdays . . . through the whole year.”
Penner says that the connections the volunteers forge go beyond the surface level.
“When they connect with these kids, it's not just like, ‘hey, we're here, we're going to play soccer, we're going to sing some songs and do crafts.’ It's also, ‘we're going to grow with you, and we're going to grow with your family.’”
Penner says that because it only takes $5 to send a child to one of these day camps, an event like the baseball tournament this weekend makes a huge impact.
“We have amazing sponsors, and some people donate, and they come out and play baseball and watch,” he says. “And what does it all mean? Maybe 6,000, maybe 10,000 more children go to camp . . . . It's kind of a small deal here, but it makes a huge, huge difference [there].”
Penner himself has been a long supporter of CCI’s mission.
“I just came on in December, but I've been following Children’s Camps International [and] supporting it personally for 20 years, and that's why I came on,” he says. “It's amazing.”
In general, Southern Manitoba has long shown its fondness for CCI — the organization has its roots here.
“The Southern Manitoba area has been so supportive,” Penner says. “[It has been] the most supportive of Children’s Camps International because it's from here. This is where it started.”
Anyone who would like to make a donation is encouraged to visit the tournament. An invitation is also warmly extended to those who would just like to seize an opportunity to watch some good baseball.
“Of course, we're charity and we always gratefully accept [donations], but if you want to come and not donate anything, that's [okay]. Just come out, no obligation. Just have fun.”
For more information about CCI or its baseball tournament this weekend, click here.
~With files from Ty Hildebrand~