Scotty’s House and Corps of Cadets Squadron 18 will be “Pitching for Hope” to benefit abused children in the Brazos Valley area Saturday.
The first Pitching For Hope softball tournament will be 9 a.m. on the Penberthy Intramural Fields to raise money for Brazos Valley’s child advocacy center.
“Scotty’s House is an organization that works with law enforcement, child protection services and medical officials to help coordinate investigations, interviews and counseling for abused children,” said Scotty’s House Director Linda Patton.
The center has provided a supportive and child-friendly environment for the victims since 1995, accommodating an average of 350 children a year.
Corps Squadron 18 has joined with the center to help further the cause.
“Our outfit has been working to establish a culture of community service. We’ve got all this talent and energy and we really wanted to channel that into helping the community,” said Squadron 18 executive officer Whitney Campbell, a senior international studies major. “Scotty’s House does such a great service to our community and it’s our job to help them prosper.”
The two organizations met and decided to have a community-wide softball tournament to raise money for general operations and the construction for a new facility.
“They called one day, said they wanted to help, and asked ‘what can we do,'” Patton said. “They are the ones doing 99 percent of the work on the event.”
Campbell said members of Squadron 18 have stepped up to the plate; coordinating with Scotty’s House administration, contacting the Student Recreation Center, managing funds, passing out flyers and obtaining donations from organizations and businesses.
“It has taken a huge amount of dedication every day for the past three weeks from the people at Scotty’s House and by every member in our own squadron,” said Squadron 18 commander Fred Mpangire, a senior biology major. “I am proud of them and what they’ve done.”
The event has become more than a fundraiser to the squadron in terms of cohesion and unity.
“It has become our outfit’s passion,” Campbell said.
The squadron plans to make the softball tournament an annual event to support Scotty’s House.
“Right now [the fundraiser] is in its infancy and this year we just want to get this running of the ground,” Mpangire said. “We have a full year to plan and make it a huge event in coming years.”
In addition to the softball tournament, T-shirts and concessions will be available.
How to registerRegistration is open for teams of 10 to 12 players through Thursday at 5 p.m. The cost per team is $75, with all proceeds going toward Scotty’s House. To register, send an e-mail expressing interest to Whitney Campbell at [email protected].