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Boys to deliver baseball gear to kids in the Dominican Republic

The "Georgia Ambassadors" is a new team of young boys from three Atlanta-area baseball parks who plan to travel to the Dominican Republic in May to donate equipment and play some games.
The "Georgia Ambassadors" is a new team of young boys from three Atlanta-area baseball parks who plan to travel to the Dominican Republic in May to donate equipment and play some games.

The "Georgia Ambassadors" is a new team of young boys from three Atlanta-area baseball parks who plan to travel to the Dominican Republic in May to donate equipment and play some games.

"This started with a simple Sunday afternoon chore list of cleaning my garage and trying to figure out what to do with the helmets, bats, shoes and gloves my two sons had outgrown," said founder Josh Wilson. "It has blossomed into a community-wide initiative to teach our kids about different cultures, different socioeconomic levels, and about giving."

The "Georgia Ambassadors" is a new team of young boys from three Atlanta-area baseball parks who plan to travel to the Dominican Republic in May to donate equipment and play some games.

The players and parents are partnered with Baseball without Borders to help coordinate their efforts in collecting the equipment and distributing it to kids in the Dominican Republic.

They are also working with Major League Baseball in the DR to make sure the equipment and supplies get into the hands of the kids that need it most. The team, made up of 9 kids, ages 8 to 12, has already collected about 3,000 pounds of used baseball equipment to donate during the trip. That includes 500 bats, 250 helmets, 400 gloves and 200 pairs of cleats.

The "Georgia Ambassadors" is a new team of young boys from three Atlanta-area baseball parks who plan to travel to the Dominican Republic in May to donate equipment and play some games.

"The Dominican Republic is the second home of baseball," Wilson said. "We are taking steps to make sure these donations get in the hands of kids who don't have shoes, gloves, bats or balls but still love playing the game of baseball."The players and their parents are scheduled to leave on May 24th.

Their itinerary includes five games against local teams of kids of similar ages at different baseball parks around the island.

The "Georgia Ambassadors" is a new team of young boys from three Atlanta-area baseball parks who plan to travel to the Dominican Republic in May to donate equipment and play some games.

After the "goodwill games," the Ambassadors will distribute the equipment they've collected.

They'll also travel with MLB to a school and orphanage where the boys will attend classes, hand out supplies, including clothes, school supplies and baseball equipment, and put on a baseball clinic.

The Ambassadors play for three Atlanta-area leagues during the regular season: East Side, Murphey Candler and Sandy Springs.

The "Georgia Ambassadors" is a new team of young boys from three Atlanta-area baseball parks who plan to travel to the Dominican Republic in May to donate equipment and play some games.

The families are looking for sponsors to defray some of the costs of the logistics of the trip. Here is a link with donation information: http://www.baseballwithoutborders.org/donations (put “For the GA Ambassadors” in the special instructions Section).

Donations of $500 or more will be considered sponsors and will have their names on the team jerseys and the ones given to other teams in the DR.

The team hopes to make this an annual trip.

"We'd like to take other kids and families from the Atlanta area so they can experience the joy of giving while playing a game that blends our two cultures," Wilson added.

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