On Monday, September 19th, the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation opened our newest Youth Development Park, Richard J. November Field, located next to the Boys & Girls Club of Metro Richmond. On hand to help us celebrate this momentous occasion were Bill Ripken; Todd McFarlane, president and CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of Metro Richmond; Cathy Bradley, executive director of the Baseball Tomorrow Fund; Ben Tucker, deputy director of the Office of National Drug Control; Chris Blake, senior vice president of K.I.D.S.; and The Honorable Marla Decker, Virginia secretary of public safety. We were also joined by local children and many of the amazing donors in the community who made this dream possible, including local Foundation trustee Richard November, in whose honor the field is named.

The Foundation's partner, Kids In Distressed Situations (K.I.D.S.), provided a truckload of new books, games, and clothes during the ceremony. K.I.D.S. is nonprofit that, through donations from retailers and manufacturers, provides new clothing, toys, books, and other products to children and families in distressed situation-such as poverty, major illness, natural disasters, etc. K.I.D.S. will also be contributing new product throughout the year.

The ribbon was "cut" by more than 75 kids from the Boys & Girls Club of Metro Richmond as they ran onto the field for the first time. The boys and girls ran to skill stations for a baseball clinic taught by Foundation staff.

Richard J. November Field is part of our national Youth Development Park initiative to provide at-risk youth in select neighborhoods with safe places to play and learn. With synthetic turf, this low maintenance complex will be great for programs like Badges for Baseball and offers many features to encourage daily fitness for the entire community, such as a running track and exercise stations.

We are incredibly grateful to the Baseball Tomorrow Fund, The Cabell Foundation, The Mary Morton Parsons Foundation, Bank of America, Robins Foundation, The Wachovia Wells Fargo Foundation, Terry Sisisky Memorial Fund, and to all of our donors, community leaders, and supporters who have given generously to make this dream come true for children in Richmond.