Baseball fans in Northeast Houston have plenty to cheer about this season. On Friday, April 2 the community celebrated the completed refurbishment of Northeast Family YMCA Youth Baseball Field with a ribbon cutting followed by Astros pitcher Andy Pettitte tossing a few balls to YMCA Youth Baseball Players.
Representatives from Minute Maid, the Houston Astros, and the YMCA of Greater Houston were on hand for the event. The field was refurbished by Minute Maid and the Astros through Grand Slam for Youth Baseball – a community outreach effort that seeks to foster self-confidence, involvement, teamwork, and fun among area children.
The project included the installation of an electronic scoreboard, new bleachers, complete fencing with fence guards, a flagpole, and an all-dirt infield. Minute Maid and the Astros plan to renovate one local ball field each year for the next 26 years.
The Northeast Family YMCA Youth Baseball Field is located at the Northeast Family YMCA at Tidwell and N. Wayside in northeast Houston. The facility was built in 1960 and services 370 different households from the neighborhoods of the Fifth Ward, Scenic Woods, Fontaine, Settegast, Lakewood, Wood Glen, Shady Timbers, Riverwood, and Wood Glen.
The YMCA of the Greater Houston area has been an important part of the communities since 1886, building strong kids, strong families and strong communities. Today, it has 34 branches, including the Northeast Family YMCA, that serve more than 80,000 people every day.
The YMCA supports its mission through a vast array of programs and facilities designed to meet the needs and interests of members of all ages. The YMCA works continuously to meet the needs of its communities through its core values of respect, responsibility, honesty, caring and faith. Christian principals into practice through programs that build healthy spirit, mind, and body for all.
The Northeast Family YMCA Youth Baseball Field is used as a cluster field for several YMCAs throughout Houston including the Northeast Family YMCA, San Jacinto YMCA, Baytown YMCA, and Wendel D. Ley YMCA. More than 500 children use the field each baseball season through the YMCA youth sports program.
Minute Maid and the Houston Astros teamed up in August 2002 to create Grand Slam for Youth Baseball. Their first project was the refurbishment of the historic Settegast Park ball field.