Whiffle Ball Tournament Goes To Bat Against Breast Cancer
ST. MICHAEL, Minn. (WCCO) -- There's special meaning behind a Wiffle Ball field in a St. Michael neighborhood, northwest of the Twin Cities.
"It's just fun to come out here and be with all my friends," said 14-year-old Jack Kelly.
Said 14-year-old Kyle Hayden, "A lot of people get into it. I'm one of them."
They, and their buddies, bought boards and painted the grass to create a mini Fenway Park in St. Michael.
"Imagination," Hayden said. "We decided to have fun and build it."
The tournament between neighborhood elementary and middle-school children started three years ago, and it's now become a fundraiser for breast cancer research, with nine teams and some 36 children involved throughout the neighborhood.
It's something Sandy Greninger knows all too well.
"I'm a 24-year breast cancer survivor," she said.
She runs the concession stand, and money raised from snack sales will go toward the cause.
"I just want to support the cause, and make sure that no other children lose their mom to breast cancer if we can help it," she said.
A neighborhood mom has breast cancer, and two boys at the tournament lost their mom to breast cancer.
"We've known a couple people diagnosed with it," Hayden said. "Our buddies ... their mom passed away from it. That kind of hit people hard."
The children haven't chosen yet exactly what cancer fund they'll donate the money to. The boys want to add sponsors next year.
