Field of dreams gets financial boost from county

By: LOUISE ESOLA - Staff Writer | Wednesday, December 14, 2005 11:08 PM PST ∞

SAN DIEGO ---- San Diego County Board of Supervisors this week allocated $900,000 to help build a field of dreams for local disabled children.

Think: Rubber turf, making it easier for children who use crutches, walkers, and wheelchairs to cruise the bases. Soft cushioned grounds to protect children from painful slips and falls. Wheelchair-friendly dug-outs for those waiting for their turn at the bat.

It's called a "Miracle Field," and it's set to be built by 2007 in the San Dieguito County Park in the unincorporated area east of Solana Beach.

Many of the fields already exist across the country, but this would be the first for Southern California.

For San Diego County, the field itself ---- which takes physically and mentally disabled kids from the stands to the middle of the action ---- isn't the only miracle, according to Suzie Engel, the founder and president of the Miracle League of San Diego.

The county's contribution boosts fund-raisers to the halfway point in gathering money for the $1.6 million to $2 million field, Engel said. "It's all happening so quickly."

Engel met with the county in August to present the idea. Prior to that, she read a newspaper article about a Poway Little League player named Joshua Monks who missed an expensive bar mitzvah in June to help raise money for a similar field.

This fall, the county agreed to gave the project a chunk of land in the San Dieguito County Park. Monks pitched in $5,000 from his fund-raising efforts. And the county on Tuesday agreed to pay $900,000 to build the field.

"We think this is going to create a windfall of donations to build this," she said.

Thirteen-year-old Monks, who worked with friends to send e-mails and hand out flyers to collect money, could not be reached for comment Wednesday. He told the North County Times last year that he wanted everyone to be able to play baseball. He learned about Miracle Fields from an ESPN television special.

Engel, who lives in Carmel Valley, said she learned about the Miracle Field by watching an HBO documentary. The mother of two Little League players found that while other locales had Miracle Leagues in place to help raise money to build such fields, San Diego did not. She said she promptly filed the necessary paperwork to joint the network and to become a nonprofit.

Upon searching for available space in San Diego County, Engel approached county officials and "the county really ran with it," she said.

Vice chairman and 5th District Supervisor Bill Horn said in a press statement that the project reflects the county's commitment to building safe and livable communities and providing healthy opportunities for children.

"The Miracle Field is a great way to allow children with special needs a chance to participate and not be confined to the sidelines," he said,

Engel, meanwhile, said children with special needs aren't the only ones who will benefit from the new field and programs. The Miracle League will also offer a buddy program that partners youth volunteers with players to provide assistance and encouragement.

Engel is urging anyone interested in learning more or donating to check out the Miracle League website at www.miracleleagueofsandiego.org. A link to footage from the HBO program can be seen there.

"That video is pretty moving," she said. "You see a great opportunity for some kids to play a sport when they wouldn't be able to. They don't have to sit on the sidelines and watch."

For more information about the park project, please visit www.sdparks.org.

Contact staff writer Louise Esola at (760) 901-4151 or lesola@nctimes.com.