Special Thanks to Wal-Mart Community Volunteers from Hickory, Conover and Granite Falls locations for bringing people, sodas, water, ice and coolers for our Allstar game. .....and.....Also Special Thanks to Domino's Pizza of Mountain View for arranging the main dish for our lunch following the Allstar game.

Thanks to everyone who took time from their busy schedules to come out in support of our 16th annual Allstar Teeball game this past weekend. Associates from Hickory, Conover and Granite Falls' Wal-Mart locations brought drinks, water, coolers and ice. It was a big help having your team on the field with us again this year.

I thought I heard someone say, "We really didn't do that much". You did a lot more than you think. The fact that "Wal-Mart" understands what we are doing and have felt lead to send volunteers out to interact with us on a personal level means so much.

An Excerpt taken from the Wal-Mart Foundation page of the Wal-Mart website (http://walmartstores.com/CommunityGiving/203.aspx):  "In all of our giving efforts, we strive to meet the unmet needs of underserved populations and support organizations that give individuals access to a better life. We believe in operating globally and giving back locally. We encourage our associates to support programs that make a positive difference in their communities through volunteer efforts and financial contributions. We involve our associates in determining how Walmart Foundation dollars are used to support causes that are important to them."

I got to tell you, I really did not see any way that the weather would break so that we could play ball today. I talked to a couple dozen families between 7:01am and 9:00am. On nearly every call, I think I said, "I really don't think its gonna happen", but I also said "Its up to the Crawdads, because its their field. They will let us know if they decide that we can't play".

Well, they never called. Our setup team showed up at 8:45am in the downpouring rain and waited to see if the Crawdads were going to open the gate for us. Around 9:05, the gate opened. The rain tapered off. We talked with our contact person, Charlie Downs. Charlie said he was planning on uncovering the field at 9 to see how it looked. He had everyone's best interest in mind the whole time and decided to give us every opportunity to play.

By 9:30 the rain had stopped, the clouds began to break, a ray of sun poked out of the fog and we decided to setup tents for the food and make a go of it. In the back of mind, I was still afraid that it wasn't going to happen. Thank goodness I'm not in charge.

It was a great day. Please take a look at the photos from the game here:

http://www.walkinroll.org/coppermine/thumbnails.php?album=17.

Download all 115 photos compressed in a zip file (13MB) here:

http://www.walkinroll.org/site/images/allstar2010photos.zip

“Let’s Play Ball!” Each Spring more than 70 local children and adults alike look forward to hearing these words during each of the 10 weeks of the Walkin’ Roll Activities League, Inc. T-Ball season. Completing this year’s season will be the organization’s 16^th Annual All Star T-Ball game set for Saturday, May 22nd at L.P. Frans Stadium, Hickory. With the opening ceremony to start at 9:45 a.m., the games will immediately follow. A light lunch will be served following the game.

T-ball, offered by Walkin’ Roll annually, is one of many activities designed to assist and nurture individuals with disabilities by providing opportunities that may not be available otherwise. Some Walkin’ Roll team members are in the public school system where they may see their fellow schoolmates in baseball games and other organized sports. Often times Walkin’ Roll team members are not included due to a disability, making it impossible for them to experience organized sports or competitive play.

Walkin’ Roll Activities League, Inc. strives to make sure all of its players, ranging in ages from 3 to 53, are respected and their skills are enhanced. Everyone gets to play. Everyone is safe at first base regardless of how far the ball is hit.

There are no charges to participate in the Walkin’ Roll T-Ball program and only minimal fees are charged during Walkin’ Roll’s bowling season in the fall. All fees pay for use of the bowling lanes, trophies, equipment or other related expenses. Because many participant families spend considerable money on medical bills, Walkin’ Roll’s various activities provide fun and stimulating activities for little cost.

Walkin’ Roll Activities League, Inc. will be launching a fundraiser that promotes healthy living and a conscious lifestyle. Walkin’ Roll Activities League, Inc. decided to raise awareness while also raising funds after realizing the average citizen in the United States uses 300 to 700 single-use plastic bags per year. Many of these single-use bags will end up littering our earth’s fragile eco-systems when they are mistaken for food by land and marine wildlife. The funds raised will help purchase....

Walkin' Roll Activities League, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit organization and relies solely on donations from our community. Walkin' Roll provides a unique opportunity for players (and their families) to participate in group activities. Our primary activity is Teeball, which will begin in March, and bowling which will begin again in October.

You can make a donation to our organization right now through Paypal by clicking here.

We welcome support in a couple of different ways:

• We would love to have you come out and have fun participating with us! Because having fun and building lasting friendships is what its all about. What can be more rewarding that knowing that you made someone smile, that you made someone's day by being at that game to help them have fun.
• We are in need of teeball supplies for the regular season. We need at least 2 new tees, a few cases of teeballs and teeball team shirts for at least 3 teams for the upcoming season.
• We are in need of a food sponsor for our all-star teeball game that should take place in late June. In years' past, we have had one sponsor for food at the final teeball game. We need enough food to feed about 150-200 people and people to serve it.
• We can always use monetary donations. Since we are a 501(c)(3) organization, we can provide a receipt for your donation upon request.

Mail your donation check to:

Walkin' Roll Activities League, Inc.
PO Box 334
Claremont, NC  28610

OR

You can make a donation to our organization right now through Paypal by clicking here.

Hello my name is Kevin Tooley, the founder of Walk n Roll Activities League. We created a league to give disabled people a chance to play sports and have fun. We got Hickory Crawdads to sponsor us. I called our league Walk n Roll because some people walk and some people roll. We started with baseball. I came up with everybody got first base rule. Our third year, we expanded our activities to bowling in the fall. I went to state bowling championships the year before; people in wheelchairs got to bowl five frames at a time. I took that idea and used it for the people in wheelchairs. I wanted bumpers used because I think that it is harder to bowl without them. We got businesses to give money to help the league. We went to Western Carolina Center to be in the parade. We do swimming and dances. I’m proud of the league accomplishments. Thank you