'Grand Slam Grant' Provides Needed Funds High School Baseball, Softball Teams (Video)
By Edward Cardenas
FERNDALE (CBS Detroit) - The $5,000 grant awarded Friday to the baseball and softball teams at Ferndale High School will go a long way to assisting the program.
The teams each receive only $400 each from the district, and are forced to conduct a variety of fundraisers to equip and field the teams of student athletes.
With the grant from Comerica Bank and the Detroit Tigers, future baseball and softball teams will benefit for seasons to come.
"It's going to be a tremendous opportunity, and just awesome for the kids," said Shaun Butler, Ferndale athletic director and assistant principal, who stated the teams will be able to get uniforms and a softball pitching machine. "When you have money in one budget, that means all the teams will benefit from it. From our seventh grade all the way up to seniors."
The grant was part of the Grand Slam Grant program. This is the fifth year grants have been awarded to Michigan's public high schools through the program. In addition to Ferndale High School, J.W. Sexton High School in Lansing; Melvindale High School; Pershing High School in Detroit and Warren Fitzgerald High School received grants this year.
Detroit Tigers outfielder Rajai Davis, who served as a celebrity judge on the Grand Slam Grant selection committee, will participate in a on-field check presentation with representatives from the winning baseball and softball teams before Saturday's Tigers-White Sox game.
"We think it is very important to support our schools and our community, in particularly in light of the fact that funding to athletic programs has declined," said Janice Tessier, Comerica vice president, national manager corporate contributions. "We are so excited at Comerica to be able to fund these programs and support our future leaders, our student athletes and our community."
