SPBO Concession Stand-Bathroom Fundraiser

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for taking the time to consider donating to our fundraising effort on behalf of Shedd Park Baseball and Softball Organization (SPBO). We, the SPBO, are a 501 c3 registered non-profit organization dedicated to providing the children of Lowell, as well as their families and friends, a fun, safe environment in which they can exercise, learn, and grow while playing sports. Our goal is to provide the best and safest environment possible for everyone. Over the years, a glaring need has been identified at Shedd Park: the lack of sanitary facilities available on site.

We are raising funds to construct a concession stand/bathroom facility on the grounds of Upper Shedd Park. The ADA-compliant building will be centrally located between Gallagher Field and Page Field. This site holds countless events each year, including youth baseball and softball games/practices, high school sub-varsity softball games, as well as middle school and high school cross-country meets. Our project aims to serve all by addressing several critical needs that benefit everyone. The need for bathrooms speaks for itself. Every person using Shedd Park should be afforded the opportunity for a clean, safe space to utilize for their individual needs. In addition, the concessions component of the building will help our league, a registered 501c3 organization, raise funds to subsidize player registration fees for the kids of Lowell and defray the cost of uniforms and equipment each year. It will also afford other entities an opportunity to raise funds that directly benefit the children of Lowell.

The facility will be named after Stephen M. Botto. Steve was a lifelong resident of Lowell. He grew up in Centerville. He played baseball for Lowell High School and the UMass Lowell Riverhawks. He was team captain of both teams because people gravitated to Steve’s leadership qualities and appreciated the respect that he showed for each unique individual. Following his playing career, he became a physical education teacher at Greater Lowell Regional Technical Vocation High School. He also coached baseball there as well as at Lowell High.

Steve married his wife, Melissa Burns, of Lowell, and they raised and Melissa continues to raise their children in Belvidere. Through their children, Matthew and Abigail, Steve became involved with Shedd Park Baseball. He coached at virtually every level of our organization. Steve coached practices, clinics, regular season games, travel ball, and could be found wherever the league needed him. He would care for our fields often seen raking them, dragging them, insuring they got water, and preparing them for games/tournaments, or practices. He was meticulous about the appearance of the field because he took great pride in Shedd Park being represented well both in terms of our product on the field and the fields themselves.

Steve was the Director of Player Development for Shedd Park. He taught coaches, volunteers, and parents how to coach/teach the game. He helped develop and implement clinics to reach out to our community and foster the growth of the sport. His mantra on the field and off was that the game should be played with a combination of hard work, hustle, determination and respect. These weren’t words to Steve; they were requirements.

With this building, Steve will remain an ever-present part of Shedd Park. We encourage our kids to be "more like 4" because we want them to understand how important it is to be a good person, a good teammate, and a good member of our community. Steve always stressed that it was important to "leave it better than you found it." With this project, we are doing just that, making it better than we found it for generations of families to come.

Please contribute if you can. Thank you very much.