Last year, the Mansfield and Waldron Little League football teams joined forces in trying to find a way to help alleviate their programs growing equipment needs. It was a gamble but both the Tigers and Bulldogs needed to do something. So the two programs decided to set up an Annual Donation Game to where instead of a gate fee, donations would be accepted instead. This wild shot that the programs took must’ve come from a world champion sniper because not only did they hit the bullseye, they blew the entire target up.
Each town put up a bucket at the front gate representing the Mansfield teams and the Waldron teams. Little League fans from both communities poured into Tiger Stadium, showing an incredible amount of support for BOTH of the football programs. There were even donations from State Representatives. Both programs raised a little over $1,000 each. As the old saying goes “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. So now the Little League Tigers and Bulldogs are excited to announce their 2nd Annual Donation Game. On August 17th, the fun will kick off with the third and fourth grade teams playing at 6 p.m. followed by the fifth and sixth grade teams at 7 p.m. The games are being played in Waldron at Sawer Wright Field.
Waldron’s Little League Co-Commissioner, Thomas B Mays, is fired up and ready for this friendly face-off, “The upcoming Donation Scrimmage between Waldron and Mansfield is a fun way to raise money for both programs. The money we raise helps us buy much needed new equipment so our kids can go out there and play while avoiding getting hurt. We appreciate Mansfield and look forward to our upcoming event. I hope everyone gets to come out and support both teams.”
Also eager to watch the Tigers and the Bulldogs square off is Mansfield’s Little League President, Josh Strozier. “We knew that we wouldn’t be in the same league as Waldron at the beginning of last year but we still wanted to keep the teams playing each other somehow. Waldron was very gracious and instrumental in helping us set up this scrimmage between the two programs. Equipment isn’t cheap by any means and both programs rely heavily on donations to keep the kids in proper and safe equipment. I was amazed at the support from these two communities at last seasons game. We hope we can repeat this success with Waldron year in and year out for a very long time.”
