The good folks who run the South Park Girls Softball Association have had adding lights to their two fields at Wilson Park at the top of their wish list for many years. Now, thanks in part to the Pirates Charities Fields for Kids program, that’s set to become a reality.
Bob Nutting, chairman of the Pirates and Pirates Charities, announced the recipients for the first round of Fields for Kids matching grants for 2025, and the South Park Girls Softball Association was among them. In the first of three rounds of grants that will be issued this year, more than $160,000 will be distributed to 14 youth baseball and softball organizations that serve nearly 3,500 kids in eight communities in Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
Fields for Kids provides key resources to such organizations, including financial support for the construction and upkeep of fields. The goal is to enable their facilities to become places where young athletes and their coaches can connect via their love of baseball, experience teamwork and sportsmanship, and create lasting memories.
“We need to ensure that our kids have a safe and healthy place to share in their love for the game,” Nutting said. “These fields mean so much to these communities. They are part of a way of life for many. Generations of families have played on these fields and created lifelong memories with their family and friends.”
The largest grants this time around went to the South Park Girls Softball Association and the Seneca Valley School District, with each being awarded $25,000 in matching grants. The Seneca Valley group will also use the funds as part of a light installation project. Adding lights will enable those groups to host an increased number of games and expand their programming.
According to Mike Polk of the South Park Girls Softball Association, Allegheny County’s Gaming Economic Development Fund provided $450,000 toward the lighting project, and Pirates Charities helped supply the remaining funds needed.
“It almost writes the perfect story that this grant from the Fields for Kids program was the final amount we needed to put us over the finish line,” Polk said. “Our facility has running-water restrooms, a concession stand, a playground for kids and a pavilion. But people have often said, ‘It’s a shame you don’t have lights.’ Being able to get lights for our fields is definitely a game-changer.”
Polk said that work on the light installation project will begin in early August, between the South Park Girls Softball Association’s spring and fall seasons; the first games under the lights at the Wilson Park fields will likely take place in late September.
“And I, 100 percent, want the Pirates to be there when we have our first game under the lights,” he said. “I told the Pirates, because they were so crucial for us, let’s make that something that’s etched in stone. We’re very grateful to the Pirates for enabling this to happen.”
Since its inception in 2009, Fields for Kids has had an impact on tens of thousands of youngsters by distributing more than 500 individual grants in the greater Pittsburgh region, and nearly 50 more in Bradenton, Fla., the Pirates’ Spring Training home.
“It is personally rewarding to support all of those who serve our youth baseball and softball players,” Nutting said. “The coaches and volunteers are the ones who deserve the real credit. They are the ones putting in the work every day for our kids. They are the everyday heroes that we should celebrate.”
Fields for Kids is one of Pirates Charities’ signature programs. Grant funds may be used to upgrade essential field components such as sod, infield playing surfaces, fencing, dugouts and irrigation systems. Upgrades to the overall facility -- including lights, bleachers, scoreboards and concession stands -- are also eligible.
Organizations in need of funding are encouraged to apply at pirates.com/fieldsforkids.