Page 16 April 2014 Eileen Klecka, R.N. Medical Director: David Francyk, D.O. • Certifi cate in Travel Health Medicine • Recognized as on of Conde Traveler Magazine’s Top U.S. Travel Health Specialists Your Dream Home on Arcadia Lane! • Unobstructed views of Camelback Mountain • Gourmet kitchen complete with gas range, multiple ovens, top of the line appliances 5337 E. Arcadia Lane, Phoenix An independently owned and operated member of BRER Affiliates LLC. not affiliated with Prudential, Prudential marks used under License. I have lived in Arcadia for over 13 years and have longtime connections at Hopi, Ingleside, Arcadia High School, Arizona School for the Arts and Prince of Peace preschool and church. I live, breathe and run in Arcadia every day! • Couples retreat complete with fi replace, jetted tub, dressing room and spacious walk in closet. • 5,123 sq. ft., 5 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms • 950+ bottle wine cellar • Formal dining room, family room and billiards room Call me today for a private appointment. Emily Whitwell 480-216-1443 Emily.Whitwell@Pruaz.com • www.emilywhitwell.com Diamondbacks provide jerseys to Arcadia Little League By Agnel Philip The Arizona Diamondbacks are facilitating a jersey give back program that will benefit more than 30 different youth baseball leagues and 20,000 players in Arizona, including the Arcadia Little League, according to Diamondbacks officials. The program provides hats and jerseys for leagues in the program, Diamondbacks Vice President for Corporate and Community Impact Debbie Castaldo said. According to Arcadia Little League President David Davis, the program will benefit more than 800 players in Arcadia. Jerseys, which all have the Diamondbacks’ logo on them, will come in 75 different color combinations and their quality will vary based on age group. The highest-level players will have the same quality jerseys as professional players. It all began a couple of years ago, according to Castaldo. “One of my colleagues and I have been talking about a program like this for about 2 years now, hoping that we would raise enough money … to afford to do it,” said Castaldo, who is also the executive director of the Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation. Their solution was the 50/50 raffle that the team introduced at Diamondbacks games. This raffle raised all the money for the program. Once the money was raised, Castaldo and her colleagues looked for ways to use the money to contribute to youth sports. After reaching out to local Little League leaders, the jersey program was chosen as the best way to spend the fundraiser’s resources, Castaldo said. “We let them talk with us for about 4 hours about the complexities of being a youth league,” she said. “One of the key things that they shared was how expensive and how difficult it can be to order and to make sure that kids have quality uniforms.” “We were excited because we knew we had hit on something with this idea for the jersey program,” she said. The team then reached out to leagues across the Valley, including Arcadia’s own Little League. Davis said the league was excited “from day one” to get involved in the program when they were contacted about it in October of last year. The contribution from the program will allow the league to spend money on other projects including facility maintenance, Davis said. “The kids benefit in two ways: they get great uniforms plus they get improved facilities to play in,” Davis said. “So, for us, it’s a win-win.” Castaldo said the program would continue next year. “We will identify the leagues that want to come back again and then we will add some leagues based on a waiting list,” she said. She said that depending on funds, they will “keep growing until we’ve got everybody in it that wants to be in it.” For leagues like Arcadia’s, the program is full of positives. “We just think it’s a good program,” Davis said. “There really is no negative or downside to this program.” For Castaldo, the program allows the team to build its brand among young baseball players and gives the team a platform to give back to the community and sport. “We want them, number one, to know that their hometown baseball team cares about them,” she said. “But, we also want to invest in baseball.” Arcadia Little Leaguers stand proud in their new uniforms. Follow the Titans. A rcadiadaily.com Visit Sports at: