Michigan Knights raise more than $60,000 for a new baseball field that serves people with disabilities

By Elisha Valladares-Cormier

8/23/2024

Source

Ken Dumais was already excited when he arrived at Neil Reid Park in Clinton Township, Michigan, on June 15. A new baseball field for people with disabilities, named in honor of Blessed Michael McGivney, would be dedicated within the hour, the pinnacle moment of an initiative that began in 2019.

The ceremony wouldn’t take place until after the field’s inaugural game, which had already begun when Dumais, a member of St. Mary of the Hills Council 13950 in Rochester Hills, got to the field. As he approached, a distinct crack drew his attention to the diamond, and his eyes followed a baseball as it flew over the fence and disappeared — the first home run at Blessed Michael McGivney Field.

“I was speechless,” Dumais said. “Seeing the first home run at this field we helped build, it was one of those ‘Hey, we did a good job’ moments and one of the greatest feelings I’ve felt.”

A good job, indeed: McGivney Field will be used by members of the Clinton Valley Little League Challenger Division Senior League, which is for people with special needs ages 16 and up. More than 40 K of C councils in the Archdiocese of Detroit helped raise about $65,000 to build the accessible field, which has features like larger dugouts to accommodate wheelchairs and rubberized base paths for improved mobility and safety.

Christopher Butts, a 28-year-old member of St. Hubert’s Council 11658 in Harrison Township, has played in the Challenger League since he was 6 years old. Seeing the support of his brother Knights in bringing McGivney Field to life was inspiring, he said.

“As someone with a disability, it made me especially proud to take the field named for our founder,” said Butts, who has cerebral palsy. “Without the Knights’ support, there wouldn’t be things like this league or Special Olympics for people with disabilities.”

Local Knights first became involved with the special needs league in 2006, when St. Isidore Council 7200 in Macomb, to which Dumais then belonged, offered to sponsor a youth team to alleviate the cost for families. Grateful for the council’s partnership, league founder Marilyn Wittstock told Dumais that the league needed to build a new accessible field. Could the Knights help them raise the necessary funds?

Nearly 20 councils from Macomb County combined to raise about $14,000 for the project. Local businesses, the Detroit Tigers Foundation and former MLB first baseman Sean Casey also contributed to help build Norm Hott Field, which was dedicated in 2008.

Since then, councils have continued to support the Challenger Division financially, giving the league more than $180,000 over the years — mostly proceeds from councils’ annual fund drives for people with disabilities. Knights whose children played in the league also began serving as coaches.

One of those Knights is Chris Butts, Christopher Butts’ father. Chris became a Knight in 1998 after Council 11658’s grand knight invited him to join, telling him that helping families with individuals who have disabilities was a priority for the council. Chris has coached his son’s team in the Challenger Division for years.

“People with special needs who play in this league feel like they fit in,” he said. “Seeing Christopher around people who are similar to him and having fun is a wonderful thing, and we wouldn’t have it if this league didn’t exist.”

The idea of building a larger field for the league’s older division was first broached with Dumais in 2019, but the project stalled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, among other factors. When the topic was revisited in 2021, Dumais was appointed by the Michigan State Council to chair the fundraising effort, which would also be supported by Special Olympics Michigan.

Over the next two and a half years, Dumais rallied support from dozens of councils in the archdiocese, attending K of C meetings at the archdiocesan, district and council levels to solicit donations. Initially, it was estimated that the new field would cost $180,000, but that number eventually rose to $250,000. Dumais wasn’t sure the Knights and other partners would be able to raise enough for the project.

“I was walking back to my car from a meeting one night and just said, ‘Father McGivney, we need a miracle,’” Dumais recalled. “That night, I got a call from the league that, regardless of how much the Knights raised, the new field would be named in honor of our founder.” That news gave the Knights’ campaign the boost it needed to close the funding gap.

The final tally of support from Knights in the archdiocese was north of $63,000. Groundbreaking took place in November 2023, but the field wasn’t finished until the week of the June 15 dedication. “It was one of those things that got planned just right,” Dumais said. “Everything got done by the grace of God.”

Working with the league, Dumais went all out for the dedication ceremony. Fourth Degree Knights processed onto the field, leading members of the league. A Knight’s daughter who has Down syndrome sang the national anthem, and Auxiliary Bishop Robert Fisher of Detroit offered a prayer of dedication and blessing over the field. Among the speakers was State Secretary Charles McCuen, who expressed his gratitude to the more than 40 councils who brought “this field of dreams” to life.

For Chris Butts and Ken Dumais, the description was not hyperbolic or fanciful; they say a field like this does make dreams come true.

The mother of a player in the league once recounted to Dumais a conversation she had with her child. “Why do you like playing baseball so much?” the mother asked. Her child responded, “It makes me feel normal.”

Chris Butts noted that the physical limitations of league participants vary widely, from players who rely on walkers to people with quadriplegia who need help swinging the bat and being pushed around the bases. Whatever their challenge, Butts said, “when they get that smile on their face after they get a hit, it’s impossible to describe the feeling.”

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ELISHA VALLADARES-CORMIER is the associate editor of Columbia and a member of Sandusky (Ohio) Council 546.