Uganda Girls Baseball Camp

Dear friends and family,

I hope this note finds you well. As you may know, I took a trip back to Uganda in 2019 with some of my USA Baseball teammates (Meggie Meidlinger, Stacy Piagno, and AJ Hamilton). It was an incredible trip where we had the amazing opportunity to teach baseball to girls ages 9-16 all around Uganda. We got to travel to 3 different regions and work with some of the amazing guys who are with the Uganda Baseball and Softball Association (UBSA). Fast forward to the present, Jimmy Jaban (with UBSA) has started an organization called Baseball at Heart and they have invited us to come back and put on more baseball clinics for the girls there! Baseball at Heart has been able to expand to now 8 different regions of Uganda and over 400 girls all across the country participating and growing the game of women’s baseball in Uganda.

Baseball at Heart’s mission is to give girls the opportunity to play baseball and through sport, provide mentorship. Many girls in Uganda don’t have the opportunity to travel and many are pulled out of school to return to the village to work or get married. Baseball is giving many girls the chance to stay in school through sports and travel to places where otherwise they might not get the chance to do so. Baseball at Heart works on mentorship for the girls both on and off the field.

Since our trip in 2019, Baseball at Heart has been able to put on several events, including an annual International Women’s Day tournament. They have been consistently working with several schools in the 8 regions of Uganda and growing the game each year. After 3 years, it has grown so much that Baseball at Heart hosted Nationals back in August! Since the country has seen positive growth from our visit in 2019, we have been invited back to spread some more baseball love and need some help/support to make more dreams come true. It was amazing to share the game that has given so much to me with these young girls 4 years ago. I could have never imagined it would grow at the rate it has. In saying that, we are raising $3,000 to return and put on clinics in 5 of the 7 regions of Uganda December 1-11. The funds will cover the cost of flights/transportation for myself, the girls coming to the clinics, all of the necessary items to put on the girls clinics, as well as breakfast and lunch for the girls coming. We are anticipating about 100 girls per location and the meals we would be providing are meals they do not typically get. Any amount goes a long way in providing these girls with an amazing, positive experience.

It's been incredible to see how far women’s baseball in Uganda has come so far. Seeing something I helped begin and love so much, grow as quickly as it has there is pretty amazing. It will only continue to grow. Thank you so much for your time and for your encouragement over all the years in the opportunities I’ve had the privilege to have. If you would like to follow what’s happening for Women’s Baseball in Uganda or follow us while we are there, check out the Baseball at Heart facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/baseballatheart or follow my instagram page - @ak9_catching . Thank you for your support!

All the best,

Anna Kimbrell