Monroe
Striking out players for charity's sake

By Christopher Schwarzen
Times Snohomish County bureau

	JIM BATES / THE SEATTLE TIMES Little League pitcher Chase Hedin wants to do more than throw strikeouts. He wants to raise money to build a field with special amenities near Skykomish River Park for disabled children.
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MONROE — Chase Hedin's brown locks of hair curl up from under his blue baseball cap as he tosses the ball to a teammate.

The hair, which also flaps around when he runs, is his most noticeable feature, fans of the 11-year-old Little League pitcher agree. But folks these days also are getting a good look at his heart.

When baseball season starts at the end of March, Chase will once again be pitching to win, but he'll be striking players out for charity.

Chase, with help from his father, Arin Hedin, is raising money for the Monroe Rotary Club's Miracle League, a baseball club that helps disabled children play the game. The Rotary Club is seeking to raise $1 million so it can construct a permanent field with special amenities for the disabled near Skykomish River Centennial Park.

Chase's goal is that 100 sponsors will donate $1 per strikeout during the upcoming baseball season. Last season, the preteen had about five K's a game, and he expects to do the same this year. Chase has a fastball that can reach 60 mph, a changeup and the start of a curve, and it's likely he'll reach his goal, said Collette Reams, a Miracle League director.

How to help To sponsor Chase Hedin's strikeout fund-raising campaign, e-mail him at hedin@gte.net or call 360-794-0144. Tax-deductible donations also can be mailed to the Monroe Rotary Club, P.O. Box 293, Monroe, WA 98272. Specify on the check that the money is for the field. Go to www.monroemiracles.org for more information on the Miracle League.

"What he's doing is amazing," she said.

Reams had business cards printed for Chase, complete with the Miracle League logo. Underneath his name, the title reads "Pitching for a Miracle Sponsorship Coordinator."

"He had been reading about other kids who were donating time and money, and he thought it was a really neat thing and something he could do," Arin Hedin said. "I saw a notice for the Miracle League right after we talked, so we discussed the idea and agreed to work toward his goal."

Chase, who started playing organized baseball at age 4, says he enjoys the game so much that he wants everyone to get a chance to play.

"This gives me something to pitch for, more than just wins," Chase said. "We've just started looking for sponsors."

Fifteen people had signed up as of late last week, and some businesses such as Monroe Fitness have made one-time donations to the Miracle League in behalf of Chase's efforts. Arin Hedin said he and his son plan to mail information packets to companies and organizations across the Puget Sound area.

The Monroe Rotary Club has raised about $70,000 in cash and has about $250,000 in in-kind donations, mostly from grass-roots efforts, said Ric Carlson, another Miracle League director. The club expects to need about $500,000 of each to build the field, he said.

But now that property-ownership issues have been settled, the club also has plans to apply for grants and to begin a larger fund-raising campaign, Reams said.

And efforts such as Chase's are the incentive to keep working, Carlson said.

"Last year, some Seattle kids gave us all the money they'd earned cutting grass," Carlson said. "Some other children gave us all the change they'd been saving for a trip to Disney World."

In addition, Reams said, donations started arriving from across the U.S. It turned out a couple who recently got married asked that donations be made to the league in lieu of wedding presents.

"There's just story after story," Carlson said.

The goal is to have the field ready by spring 2005, Carlson said. In order to meet the goal, construction needs to begin by September, he said. The soft-material, all-weather field will be wheelchair accessible: in-ground bases, easy-access dugouts and no pitcher's mound. Restrooms and a concession stand with accessories for the disabled, in addition to a parking lot that can handle several vans, also will be included.

"In a perfect world, it can happen," Carlson said. "It depends on our fund raising."

Christopher Schwarzen: 425-783-0577 or cschwarzen@seattletimes.com

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