The idea for Play Ball was imagined in 2017 by Lawson Strenecky, a 13-year-old at the time. After seeing the devastation of Puerto Rico from Hurricane Maria, and the lack of government response, he decided to take action. After discovering that the heart and soul of Puerto Rico, he felt the best way to help recovery was to empower youth, like himself, through the sport they loved so much. By providing baseball equipment for teams in exchange for teams completing a community-based service project, we could help communities on their road to recovery.

 

We started collecting baseball equipment through drives and fundraising, and we took our first trip to Puerto Rico in May 2018 with multiple bags of equipment. We have continued to grow from there, recruiting support from individuals, organizations, and businesses. We hope you will join us in our efforts and help us reach even more young kids and communities in Puerto Rico!