Volunteers Build Batting Cages at Lacey

Volunteers from ‘The Group’ help install 3 new batting cages at The Lacey Complex (submitted photo)

Oskaloosa, Iowa – A group of young couples from Central Reformed Church who call themselves simply The Group installed three new batting cages at the Lacey Recreation Complex over the weekend.

Tom Morrison, leading the project stated “The group does a service project every summer. We look for a project that we can complete and that will be a benefit to the community.”

One batting cage was installed at the Babe Ruth complex with seven volunteers on Friday. On Saturday a group of sixteen came out and installed the other two in no time at the baseball diamonds. Sherry Vavra, Executive Director at the complex stated, “This project is great example of how working together works for the community. The project was made possible through a Mahaska County Community Foundation (MCCF) grant which paid for the cages. Volunteers then completed the project by donating time and labor to see all three cages installed.”

The Group has several people from Osky, New Sharon and all around the community that are involved with youth at the Lacey complex and spend a lot of time there. Tom stated though “It’s really about helping the community in some way and we thought that Lacey would be a great place to contact.”

Sherry added, “MCRF appreciates volunteers tremendously as they allow things such as this project to be completed and to benefit the community. Immediate value for this project was seen when youth from the different Babe Ruth teams were using the batting cages less than a day after installation at the Babe Ruth tournament that also took place at the complex over the weekend.

I love it when we develop and see that development used by the youth of our community” she said as she watched youth gathered around the first batting cage.