Peterborough businesses are stepping up to help a special needs children’s baseball team after their equipment was stolen.
The Peterborough Challenger team plays baseball at Turner Park every Wednesday, and they have always felt safe leaving their equipment locked up in the bin at the park.
That was until recently, when all of their bats, three helmets and a dozen balls were stolen.
“Well, we’ve been storing our equipment at the park in a locked box equipment box for the last 2 and half years,” said Bernie Daynes, president of the Challenger baseball team, “and never had an incident — not even so much as a chalk drawer or graffiti.”
When we arrived at the park, I discovered the base of the box had been pried open and the box [was] open and a bag full of equipment was missing,” Daynes said.
Daynes believes the incident took place between Monday and Wednesday evenings, because a portable toilet was delivered to the park during that time. A piece of equipment, reportedly, was located inside the toilet.
“What makes it so unique and special is that it is specifically used for our junior players who need to be kept a little safer with bats,” said Daynes.
“The bats are a soft exterior with a solid core; we call them soft bats. We use a softer ball. Those bats would not be of any value to an adult of even a growing child.”
Daynes said after he posted a long rant on Facebook expressing his frustration, he was overwhelmed by support.
“We’ve had a number of local businesses step up to give us a hand,” said Daynes. “Clonsilla Auto Sales, the Beast Gym, and Doctor J’s, and a number of other individuals, have all stepped up to help us replace the equipment.”
The team is now left scrambling to replace all of their equipment so they can enjoy playing the game of summer for the rest of the season.
A GoFundMe page has also been created to support the team.