Support The Sandlot: Keep Dominican Kids Off the Streets
When school ends at 13, the streets are waiting.
In Barahona, poverty pulls kids out of classrooms long before graduation. By their early teens, most face two paths: chase baseball as a long-shot escape, or get swept into gangs, drugs, and crime.
Families gamble everything on the game, but the odds are brutal: 98% never sign a contract. By 20, most are cut loose with nothing—no diploma, no plan, no way forward.
Empower Baseball is a nonprofit that changes the game.
We’re a baseball charity in which kids join our three teams—T-ball, middle school, and high school—and play 365 days a year. They get uniforms, meals, coaching, and mentorship. But more than that, they stay in class, study with tutors, and work toward scholarships in the DR and the US.
It’s not about chasing the 0.03% who make the Majors. It’s about building graduates, leaders, and role models who can lift their communities from the inside out.
Be part of the village
We call our supporters “The Sandlot” because that’s what it feels like: a team of people making sure kids have what they need to stay in school and in the game.
Even a one-off contribution or a small monthly gift keeps kids off the streets and gives them a chance to dream bigger than baseball. If you’re not ready to donate, you can still join The Sandlot and get updates, highlight reels, and stories of progress.
365 days of practices and league games
Kids stay safe, busy, and motivated.
3 teams: T-ball, middle school, and high school
A pathway from first swings to graduation caps.
2 diamonds
Safe fields where kids learn discipline and teamwork instead of life on the streets.
Tutoring & mentoring
Because playing time is earned in the classroom first.
Daily, nutritious meals
No child should have to learn or play on an empty stomach.
Scholarship guidance
Clear pathways to college in the DR and the US.
Every time we say “no,” we know what happens next.
Sometimes kids show up eager to play, but we don’t have the resources to take them in. And we know what happens when they walk away: they drop out of school, drift toward the streets, and the cycle continues. Your support means we never have to turn them away. Every $25, $50, or $100 keeps another child safe, learning, and dreaming.
Without your support, kids walk away from the field—and from school. With it, they get uniforms, meals, mentors, and the chance to graduate. Isn’t that the real home run?