DAVENPORT, Iowa — Little leagues across the Quad Cities are facing the tough decision of whether to cancel their spring and summer baseball seasons or to continue to wait and see. One Eighty in Davenport this week made the call: no baseball this year.
"Knowing that one decision, one word, 'canceled,' could take that away from those kids, those volunteers, and really the community," said Rusty Boruff, One Eighty's executive director. "It's definitely heartbreaking, even though it's the right thing to do."
Each spring, the organization teaches baseball to about one hundred first, second and third graders enrolled at Davenport schools. Partnering with the school district, games are played at Jefferson, Monroe and Hayes Elementary schools.
Boruff said he learned that during the pandemic, many of the baseball families didn't have access to enough food.
"We turned our community center, this church right here, into basically a food hub. It's just filled with food that people drop off or that we go out and purchase."
Volunteers like Gina McDaniel could be seen on Tuesday sorting through some of the donated food.
"We're all in this together and if I have an opportunity to serve then I want to do so. It's important," McDaniel said.