There are more than 250 Miracle League programs across the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada. It all began in 1997 when baseball coach Eddie Bagwell with Rockdale Youth Baseball Association (RYBA) in Conyers, Georgia, located 25 miles east of Atlanta, invited the first child with a disability to play baseball on his team. By 1998, additional children with disabilities played baseball on a typical field within RYBA’s baseball Complex.
Within a couple years, it became evident that all children should have the opportunity to play baseball. Under the leadership of former Georgia state representative Dean Alford, the Rotary Clubs of Rockdale County and Conyers formed the Rotary Miracle League Fund, a 501(c)3 organization with two objectives:
- Raise the funds necessary to build a special complex with facilities that meet the unique needs of the Miracle League players.
- Assist in the outreach efforts for Miracle Leagues across the country.
With the help of community volunteers and corporations, the first of its kind Miracle League Field was completed by April 2000. On opening day, the league’s rosters had more than 120 players. Today, Miracle League has grown to serve more than 200,000 children and adults in more than 250 leagues.
A League of Our Own
The Miracle League of Franklin County was founded Donna Wade in 2011. Donna, the mom of two special needs’ children, has loved baseball since she volunteered as the statistician for her high school’s baseball team. The same high school where she now works as a math teacher, her husband coaches baseball and her son plays on the varsity baseball team—Bunn High School, in Bunn, North Carolina.
Donna and her husband are the parents of triplets—Laci, who has Down syndrome; Jami, who has autism; and Derek, the avid high school baseball player mentioned above.
Laci played recreational t-ball with her brother Derek when they were younger, but once she aged out, Donna realized that the next level Coach Pitch may no longer be a safe environment for her daughter. It was then that Donna researched Miracle League and told her husband she was going to bring the program to Franklin County for Laci and children with special needs living in Vance, Granville, Warren and northern Wake counties in North Carolina.
Since its first season, Miracle League of Franklin County has added a t-ball-sized, rubber turf baseball field in 2014 and 1,600-square-foot field house building to accommodate players and their families during the fall and spring seasons in 2020. Additional projects, such as an ADA accessible, all-inclusive playground, 0.8-mile walking trail and a picnic shelter are also planned to be added to the organization’s facilities located on the grounds of Long Mill Elementary School in Youngsville, N.C.
In addition to offering children of all abilities the chance to play baseball, Donna says the league is a social aspect for players, a form of therapy for players’ parents and loved ones, and an overall rewarding experience for volunteers.
Her favorite thing about Miracle League is watching the buddies interact with players. She says that after volunteering, some of the younger buddies even end up choosing a career working with special needs children.