Posted by Jean DePlacido, Salem News
Published Friday, May 5, 2017
View the original article here.
Last week Hamilton-Wenham coach Tawny Palmieri got a phone call she wasn’t expecting.
It was from Travis Roy telling her the Generals had been accepted to play this summer in the annual Wiffle ball tournament he hosts in Essex, Vermont. Teams are asked to raise between $5,000-$10,000 with all the money going to the Travis Roy Foundation to help people living with spinal cord injuries through equipment and research.
Roy was a freshman hockey player at Boston University when he crashed into the boards, and tragically was paralyzed. He wrote the book “Eleven Seconds” which was how long he had been on the ice in his first college game when it happened.
“We’ve been fundraising for a while, and still have two car wash dates set up. We’ll do canning, and sell softball gear. After that one more big fundraiser, maybe a comedy show in June, should put us over the top. We’ve been able to raise around $2,000 already, and should make the required $5,000, which is the figure most new teams reach.”
Roy told Palmieri he thinks it’s great the girls will play and would like to see more females get involved. The tournament runs from August 11 through the 13th at Little Fenway, a replica of Boston’s Fenway Park that even features a Green Monster. The event will be open to the public free of charge. The fun weekend includes a silent auction, raffles, food vendors, and entertainment for the kids as well as a home run derby.
Parents and players are on board with the fundraising projects and thrilled to be chosen. Within the next two weeks a team name will be picked for the tournament.
Read the entire article here.
Learn more about the Travis Roy Foundation WIFFLE Ball Tournament.
