Founded 2005 | Founder David Rhode | |
Location Harleysville, Pennsylvania Key people Roy Smalley III, President | ||
Pitch in for Baseball (PIFB) is a non-profit, 501c3 charity which focuses on the collection and distribution of new and gently used baseball and softball equipment. The collected equipment is then given to youth leagues in underserved communities around the world. To date, much needed equipment and uniforms have been sent to over 80 countries worldwide and more than 450 communities around the United States. Since its inception in the summer of 2005, PIFB has helped leagues in the Dominican Republic, Poland, Haiti, Nicaragua, Ghana, Israel, the Ukraine, India, China and the hurricane affected Gulf Coast region of the United States.
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History
PIFB was founded shortly after Hurricane Katrina. The organization sent donated equipment to the devastated areas to help revive their local youth baseball leagues. PIFB continues to help communities affected by natural disasters. In June 2011 they donated a great deal of equipment to those in Joplin, Missouri after the horrific string of tornados. The organization also works will under privileged communities including those in the Philadelphia area.
Internationally, PIFB has sent equipment to Europe and is credited with helping raise the popularity of baseball in Europe. The Uganda little league team competing in the 2012 Little League World Series received its equipment from PIFB. This is being captured by filmmaker Jay Shapiro for the upcoming documentary Opposite Field. Shapiro spent two years in Uganda filming baseball players, and documenting the country's baseball community.