Enriching and Developing Youth through Baseball
Newsletter - May 2019


Twin Cities Orthopedics Pledges $444 for Every Eagle Made Up to $20,000


We need your help on Monday, August 12th to make this $20,000 commitment possible. Grab a few friends, sign up, and bring your best golf game out to Legends Golf Club. All foursomes will have the opportunity to eagle multiple holes during their round.

"While Legends can be a difficult course for some, the course design favors scrambles to shoot for multiple eagles in a round." Legends Golf Pro continued, "I would say some groups would have a shot at raising over $1,300 for the foundation."
 
Sign up today and help the JP4 Foundation reach this goal! All proceeds raised go to support the mission and vision of the JP4 Foundation - bringing baseball to all.
 
  

About the Event
Our signature event of the year has doubled in size. The JP4 Foundation will be expanding the Johnny Price IV Memorial Golf Tournament to a two-shotgun tournament. The morning round will start with an 8AM shotgun, followed by a common lunch for all golfers at 1PM, and then the afternoon round at 2PM. 
 
This event is sure to sell out. There are many options for corporate sponsorships available. Use this as an opportunity to support the JP4 Foundation while getting your company exposed to over 300 golfers and guests. Whether through your marketing budget or business charitable giving, your sponsorships and signage will get double the visibility with our two-round event.


Summer-Long Baseball Camps Announced 

After many supporters stepped up to the plate at the first-ever JP4 Holiday Party this past December, we secured enough funding to run two, summer-long baseball camps for communities in need. Our summer-long baseball camps will kick off the 3rd week of June and run through the summer.

All kids who attend will be given their own glove, camp t-shirt, hat, nutritional meals, and positive coaching. This is the second year of the summer long camps. The JP4 Foundation has a plan to increase the number of camps every year impacting communities in need all around the Twin Cities

Camp 1  - Police Activities League (Minneapolis)

Every Tuesday, the JP4 Foundation will be working with the students in the Police Activities League of Minneapolis (PAL). The PAL organization's mission is to reduce juvenile crime and violence by using police officers and community members as coaches and mentors for inner city youth. The Minneapolis Police Activities League (PAL) is a 501c3 nonprofit organization based on the philosophy that when given a choice kids will choose to participate in positive character-building activities instead of committing crimes. At PAL believes every kid deserves a safe place to play.




Camp 2 - The Sanneh Foundation (St. Paul)

On Thursdays, the JP4 Foundation will be working with The Sanneh Foundation at the Conway Community Center in St. Paul.  Conway is a public space that offers diverse and free youth programming and a safe place for local youth to spend out of school time.  Many view Conway as their "home away from home" and the staff takes pride in knowing all youth by name. Conway is a special place, with over 18 languages spoken and activities ranging from sports to dance to girls and boys empowerment groups. The JP4 Foundation is thrilled to be bringing a summer-long baseball camp to the kids of St. Paul.
 
 

Thank you to all of our supporters for helping bring baseball to all kids!
First Two Scholarship Winners Announced
 
The Johnny Price Memorial College Scholarship was established in 2016 to honor a beloved Lakeville South standout, John Price IV, who passed away following an automobile accident December 4th, 2015. Scholarships will support senior baseball players who exemplify the qualities of "JP4"

Duke Benge, Lakeville South High School
Benge is known for his leadership on and off the field. On the field, Benge has been a three-year letter winner for Lakeville South's baseball team and was selected as captain for the Cougar's 2019 season. Benge also leads outside of the lines being the President of Lakeville South's National Honor Society Chapter, HOSA Chapter, an elected Senior Class Officer, a member of the homecoming court, a prominent leader in South's Student Council, and the Vice President of South's DECA Chapter. In addition, Benge coach's youth baseball for the Minnesota Mash year-round as well as the Minnesota Twins' summer camp. Benge leads a youth group at his church as well as serve for Southland City Church. He will continue making an impact on and off the field at The United States Air Force Academy.



Lucas Lesser, Burnsville High School
Lesser was a pitcher and outfielder for Burnsville High School. Lesser was a positive role model on and off the field and has treasured the time he spent with his teammates and the friends he has made over the years through sports.  Lesser worked as a baseball umpire for the Burnsville Athletic Club, providing leadership to the younger baseball players. Lesser was a member of his high school community service group and is an active volunteer for numerous organizations including Special Olympics, Bridging Inc., Feed My Starving Children, St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Loaves and Fishes, Hope Street 5k Benefit, and Village Shores Senior Community.  Lesser will be attending the University of Minnesota Duluth in the Fall of 2019 and plans to major in Mechanical Engineering.


For more information of the Johnny Price IV Memorial College Scholarship and for past recipients, visit:  https://www.jp4foundation.org/johnny-price-iv-memorial-college-scholarship/
Are You a Thrivent Member?

The JP4 Foundation is now enrolled in Thrivent Choice® and is listed in the  Thrivent Choice online catalog .

Thrivent Choice is a member-advised program that allows eligible members to recommend where Thrivent distributes part of its charitable outreach funds each year. When eligible Thrivent members direct Choice Dollars® to your organization in a particular month, Thrivent reviews the recommendation and makes an electronic deposit in your organization's bank account by the 10th of the following month.

We Need Your Gloves! Look for the Official Buckets Around Town
 
The JP4 Foundation has teamed up with Team Tucker in hopes of bringing baseball to 500 kids in 2019. We're off to a great star!  This spring alone more than 275 students, K-5, participated in Tucker's Sandlots throughout the Hopkins area. The JP4 Foundation paired baseball players from Maranatha Christian Academy (Brooklyn Park), West Lutheran High School (Plymouth), and Benilde St. Margaret's (St. Louis Park) to help run these sandlots.
 
Tucker's Sandlots, powered by the JP4 Foundation, will continue throughout the summer months, and we need your help to make that happen. To ensure all participants have a glove of their own so they can continue playing the game well after the sandlots end, the JP4 Foundation is collecting new and used kid-sized baseball gloves.
 
How can you help? First, we are looking for locations throughout the community to place and rotate these glove collection buckets on a monthly basis. Community or civic centers, schools, religious organizations and most businesses are perfect collection sites. If you can host a bucket or if you know of a good location, please contact  JP4 Foundation's executive director, Jeff Huth at 


Keep Playing Baseball - California Friends of the JP4 Foundation

Keep Playing Baseball ("KPB") is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit created in memory of Scott Heinig, a former D1 pitcher and high school coach who passed away in 2011. Scott was passionate about helping players have the opportunity to play college baseball and Keep Playing Baseball continues his effort on a national scale. 

KPB provides accurate player-to-player information and advice on the college baseball search and recruiting process at no cost to players and families. All the information we provide comes from those who know the college game best-a network of current and former college coaches and players who have contributed their insight and knowledge without compensation because they want to help the next generation of college baseball recruits succeed. Last year, our web resources reached just under 75,000 people across all 50 states.

T o learn more about our work, watch  this short video , visit us at  www.KeepPlayingBaseball.org  or follow us on social media.

Twitter: @KeepplayingBB
Facebook: Keep Playing Baseball
I nstagram: @keepplayingbaseball

Looking to Help?

Visit our Facebook 
A quick and easy way to help out. Like our page and share our latest post. 

Speaking Engagements
Need a speaker at your next Rotary meeting or Chamber event? The JP4 Foundation frequently visits these gatherings to share the work and vision of the foundation with the community.

Reach Out
It is our goal to impact as many families as possible. If you or someone you know may be in need of support from the JP4 Foundation, please connect them with director, Jeff Huth at  Jeff.Huth@JP4Foundation.org


Upcoming Dates
June 1st
Summer financial aid deadline. Visit JP4foundation.org/apply-for-assistance/ for details.

August 12th
4th Annual Johnny Price IV Memorial Golf Tournament will take place Monday, August 12th at Legends Golf Club.

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