Chaparral junior Emily Moore. (Kevin Keyser/KeyserImages.com)
Emily Moore hatched a plan to help — but the outpouring of support from her school, community, and even local rivals has been something of a surprise.
Earlier this year, the Chaparral junior was talking with her Spanish teacher about service-learning baseball trips some people take to the Dominican Republic. Then, something struck her.
“We just thought, ‘Wow, they play a lot of baseball. Do they play softball there?'” Moore said on Wednesday.
Yes, she quickly found out, they do. Moore’s mind continued to churn. As the starting shortstop on the Chaparral’s softball team, she wanted to do something similar to the baseball trips. Ultimately, she settled on gathering donations of equipment, which will be shipped to youth athletes in the Dominican Republic.
It’s now called the Diamond Project.
“We just thought of it,” Moore said. “I’ve never done anything like this.”
Her teammates soon joined in the effort, as did the Chaparral community. The next thing Moore knew, opposing teams, including traditional rivals, were dropping off equipment to be donated before or after games.
The softball equipment the Diamond Project has gathered so far. (Courtesy of Emily Moore)
“I was not expecting that at all,” Moore said.
This week, the entire Chaparral team came over to Moore’s house to take inventory.
“They were all so excited to count it,” she said. “They’ve been really supportive the whole time.”
Among the haul is 100 bats, 75 pairs of cleats and dozens of softballs. There are helmets; even catcher’s gear.
In partnership with Community Connection International, a non-profit founded by her Spanish teacher, and the Colorado Rockies, the gear will be transported to the Dominican and distributed.
But first, the Diamond Project will collect donations at the state softball tournament. Moore’s Wolverines are in the 5A bracket, so she and her team will have a booth set up at the entrance to Complex B at Aurora Sports Park from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. They’ll then play Grandview at 12:15 p.m.
In addition to softball equipment, financial contributions will also be accepted.
If people are unable to make donations at the state softball tournament, they can contact Moore via email (emily.moore2516@gmail.com) to make other arrangements.
Chaparral’s softball team will play in the Class 5A tournament. (Kelly Thornburg/MVPSportsPics.com)