Call for Action team works to repair Miracle Field

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (WXYZ) - On a very special baseball diamond, one of only 60 in the United States, 10-year-old Caleb Derouin , hits the ball and runs the bases just like any other typical, red-blooded, American boy.

But Caleb is not typical. He was born with cerebral palsy. At age five he was trapped in a wheelchair and told he would never walk on his own.

Every week, 400 severely, physically challenged, children get the chance to forget their disabilities and just play baseball, like any other kid, all thanks to The Miracle League of Michigan.

But several days ago a group of thugs defaced this sacred place with ugly words of hate.

Yesterday, I told you about the mammoth effort to make the field like new again.

Already a company called SWF Restorations is carefully trying to remove that graffiti with a specialized, gentle process, but it’s not working and these guys can’t afford to make the damage even worse.

”The fear from everyone is that the powerful solvents we could use on this ugly eyesore, could make this special, rubberized, surface boil-up and blister. We don’t want to scar this surface and then the whole thing needs to be replaced,” Stephen Daniels of SWF Restoration says.

Monday, the Call for Action team started a massive fundraiser to raise $6,000 to patch this ugly portion of the field, and within two hours, our channel 7 viewers came through big.

The president of The Miracle League, Stephen Peck says, “After your story last night, we immediately started getting mobbed with calls and emails, in fact we received the entire $6000.00 within 2 hours or so. It just shows how something bad on the baseball field can turn into something so good in this world.”

Although our goal of raising $6,000 has been met, hundreds of people including members of the Michigan Paralyzed Veterans of America are still donating money. The veterans are coming through with a check for $500.

If you would like to donate to The Miracle League, you can find more information on their website . 

And to all of you who have already donated, God Bless you for your charity.