ROSSVILLE, Kan. (WIBW) -In 1980, a softball tournament was started to help fundraise and raise awareness for Muscular Dystrophy, and more than 40 years later, the tradition still continues.
“We are raising money for an excellent case, it Camp Milton in Linwood, Kansas, it’s a camp for kids ages 6 to 17 that suffer from Neuromuscular diseases and so all of the money that we raise at this tournament go to the camp and helps send kids to the camp and they love it,” said Sandy Becker.
Generations of families step up to the plate, hoping they will make a difference in a child’s life when they leave the field.
“It’s just like family, a lot of these teams have been around since the very beginning we are actually on the third generation now,” she said.
Each time they are playing for more than the name on their jerseys.
“Everyone knows how important this is mainly because Mia comes and visits us every year and that brings it home, Mia is a little girl that suffers from a muscular dystrophy disorder and she 9-years-old and we actually met her, she came to the first time we had this tournament, she showed up and our hearts just fell for her she has had some struggles this past year with her illness but she is doing better and we hope she continues to stay healthy,” Becker said.
The reason the players join the tournament is for kids like Mia, and Sunday afternoon, they showed her what an inspiration she is to many.
“The team Brass Rail, Mia is in all of our hearts and special to all of us and they decided to do something special for her so they had their team all autographed a bat with her name on it and it was great,” she said.
Overall, the teams raised over $47,000 and more information on Camp Milton can be found here.
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You can watch the video taken at this year's tournament that explains it's purpose.
