N. Bellmore-N. Merrick Little Leaguers host fundraiser for kids in Dominican Republic

Children in impoverished areas of the Dominican Republic — who comprise about 60 percent of the country’s population –– might call a rock wrapped in a stocking and held together with a rubber band a baseball.

Chris Pekoff, the secretary and a parent of children in the North Bellmore-North Merrick Little League, said he was surprised to learn this from Dominic Sardilli of the shipping company DHL Express.

“You hear things like that and it makes you think,” Pekoff said. “The more kids who get to play baseball, the better. We want all kids to have that chance and what they need.”

Pekoff and other parents of North Bellmore-North Merrick Little Leaguers said that was why they decided to hold a fundraiser last week in which nearly 3,000 pieces of baseball equipment were collected to be sent — with the generous help of DHL — to children in the Dominican Republic.

Town of Hempstead Clerk Mark Bonilla, of Bellmore, reached out to local youth baseball leagues to start the equipment drive. Some of the children whose families made contributions joined Bonilla and former Mets outfielder Timo Pérez, a native of the Dominican Republic, on Aug. 8 at Jacob Gunther Field in Bellmore to pack the items for shipment.

Jerry Marino, president of the North Bellmore-North Merrick Little League, said that Bonilla had contacted him about a year ago to tell him about his idea. Marino thought it was a great project, and he wanted to get local children involved. “It was the right thing to do,” he said. “We felt the need to reach out to those less fortunate than us.”

Bonilla explained that the equipment includes bats, balls, gloves and batting helmets. The items were donated by the North Bellmore-North Merrick and Freeport Little Leagues and the Bellmore Blue Fire travel team.

DHL Express offered to donate its shipping services. Bonilla said this was crucial to the fundraiser’s success, since the cost of sending the equipment to the Caribbean nation would have been high.

Bonilla said he had noticed that certain communities in the area have growing Dominican populations, and the strong local connection to the D.R. fueled his desire to start the fundraiser.