In June of 2022, a team of 19 from PALS–including three members of the leadership of the Belize City Softball Association–traveled to Freetown, Sierra Leone to work with five youth soccer clubs, including our key partner Vintage Academy, to facilitate a four-day USA Quickball softball and baseball skills camp for 170 young people. We also hosted trainings with the adult soccer coaches and–through group fundraising efforts and equipment collections–donated 27 bags of softball gear to enable the clubs to start the first softball program in the country. In addition, we collaborated with the Sierra Leone Cricket Association to host a one-evening USA Quickball training for 290 young people and provided them with equipment.

In August of 2021, we were thrilled to partner with the Tommie C. Howell T-Ball Program, Men of Mill Creek, and USA Quickball to offer our first ever weeklong Baseball + Softball Skills Camp at the PALS field for children ages 6 to 15. 41 young people participated, and--thanks to our generous donors and in-kind partners--the camp was completely free for participants and every child received dinner and a new glove! In summer of 2022, we partnered with the Mill Creek Rec Center to offer weekly USA Quickball clinics for youth participants in Philadelphia Park and Recreation's six-week day camp hosted at the PALS field.

Our weekly games take place at the Mill Creek Recreation Center and, since 2012, we have supported a range of youth programming run by the Center as well as the neighborhood organization Men of Mill Creek, including the after-school Bravo Hood program and the Tommie C. Howell Tee-Ball Camp. We also sponsor the trophies and t-shirts for the Tommie C. Howell summer basketball camp and Norman Pennock mini basketball camp, run by Men of Mill Creek. In 2021, we purchased and donated a new infrared thermometer for the newly-opened Lucien E. Blackwell Center next to the field as well as 72 new schoolbags that were distributed at the Mill Creek 9/11 Community Event.

Every October, we host the Philly Cheesesteak Classic charity softball tournament at Pennypack on the Delaware benefitting Pitch In For Baseball + Softball! After two years, this two-day, six-game guaranteed, mixed-gender charity slow-pitch softball tournament has raised a total of $5,207 to support PIFBS's mission of eliminating barriers to baseball and softball by providing equipment directly to leagues, schools, and organizations around the world who are most in need. PIFBS has provided equipment grants to our initiatives with the Belize City Softball Association and Vintage Academy in Sierra Leone and we are honored to be able to return the support!

We believe that Black Lives Matter and stand in support of and in solidarity with those who protest, fight back against, and are harmed by systemic, structural racism and white supremacy--both in and out of the criminal justice system. In turn, we have donated to the Philadelphia Bail Fund, Morris Home (the first residential recovery program to offer comprehensive services specifically for trans and gender non-conforming individuals which has also been a steady home for BIPOC trans and GNC people), the Innocence Project, Black Lives Matter, and Philadelphia Auto and Parole.

Every year in March, we host a field cleanup day at the Mill Creek Recreation Center--where we play--to kick off the season. We clean up trash on the field as well as the surrounding streets and the basketball court and pool, cut down weeds and remove dead growth, prepare the infield, and more. In January 2022, for MLK Day of Service, we also volunteered as a group with Kensington Soccer Club for their community cleanup day and spent several hours cleaning up a section of Kensington by their headquarters.

In July of 2021, the PALS community came together at the Spring/Summer 2021 End of the Season Awards Party at Jet Wine Garden to raise $725 in cash and gift cards to support the families served by the African Family Health Organization (AFAHO) in West Philly. AFAHO provides culturally-sensitive health, human, and educational services to African and Caribbean immigrants and refugees in the greater Philadelphia area and we are so grateful to Jet Wine Garden for hosting and everyone who contributed.

In November 2020, we participated in a fully-masked and socially-distanced group volunteer outing to MANNA to prepare 1,500 Thanksgiving week meals for their clients. MANNA uses nutrition to improve health for people with serious illnesses who need nourishment to heal by cooking and delivering nutritious meals and providing nutrition counseling to individuals who are battling life-threatening illnesses such as cancer, renal disease, and HIV/AIDS.

In January 2020, the PALS community contributed over 100 in-kind pantry items and toiletries as well as $425 in gift cards at our Summer/Fall End of the Season Awards Party at Lucky 13 Pub for the families served by the Nationalities Service Center (NSC). NSC provides comprehensive services to immigrants and refugees, including legal protections, community integration, access to health and wellness services, and opportunities to achieve English language proficiency and we are so thankful to everyone who donated as well as Lucky 13 Pub for hosting.

In January 2020, we participated in a group volunteer outing to provide dinner service to individuals experiencing homelessness through the non-profit Muslims Serve at Hub of Hope in Center City Philadelphia. Muslims Serve offers complimentary meal service five nights in coordination with Philabundance. Hub of Hope is an engagement center made possible through Project Home, the City of Philadelphia, and SEPTA, and the nightly meal service is one of the resources they provide.

Over the years, we have supported the children and families of the Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House through player and league fee donations as well as wish list drives. In addition to providing donated food for the pantry and donated gift cards for families, this support established a Happy Fund to provide tickets to local attractions and bring in traveling exhibits, such as the Zoo on Wheels, and also allowed for the purchase of a Pop-A-Shot basketball game and assorted video games. Since 1974, the Philadelphia Ronald McDonald House has supported families of seriously ill children by creating a community of comfort and hope.

Heifer International Sierra Leone worked with vulnerable communities, especially with women and youth, to alleviate hunger and poverty. They helped impoverished families become self-reliant through the gift of farm animals and training in order to realize a shared vision of a country of peaceful communities with sustainable livelihoods for all co-existing in a healthy environment. Though Heifer has now concluded their work in Sierra Leone, previous league fees supported the construction of a rice mill in Kangama in rural Kailahun District.