About Us
Program History
In 1992, East Palo Alto was designated the “Homicide capital of the U.S. Nightly gunfire was a sound residents became accustomed to. Streets and parks were occupied with drug activity, as the community was known as the “drug supermarket” of the area. Crime and violence had become the norm in our 2.5 square mile of 25,000 people, of whom ten thousand under the age of 18. In an effort to improve conditions, residents came together to work with the City. The focus became to reduce crime and create economic opportunity.
As part of a joint effort to “reclaim” the parks, East Palo Alto T-Ball & Pitching Machine was created. Noticing that the local Ravenswood Little League only served 9-12, the program founders realized that youth needed to be engaged from an earlier age and baseball was a great opportunity. Gene Tate, Sam Jordan, and Ray Kennon came together with three goals in mind
Why Us?
Empowering Futures Through Sports: The Evolution of the T-Ball & Pitching Machine's Impact
Coach Gene's Enduring Legacy: Nurturing Dreams, Building Communities.
In 1994, the T-Ball & Pitching Machine partnered with the San Francisco Giants to expand programming to the Summer through their newly created Junior Giants program that provided youth in the region an opportunity to learn the game free of charge. This partnership helped provide the funds needed to renovate and upgrade Jack Farrell Park where the league continues to operate. It also allowed us to work with the Positive Coaching Alliance in that same year. By 2003, our founder Coach Gene expanded the Junior Giants program to Las Vegas where he currently resides and continues to do the great work that inspired him from the start. Both locations continue to operate under his tutelage and we rely on volunteers plus sponsorship to keep our 501c3 serving the community. Over the thirty years in existence, our organization has served thousands of children in East Palo Alto as well as expanding into Las Vegas. We have served as a vehicle of change in the lives of these children. Many have gone on to attend and graduate from college while now leading successful lives. Our philosophy of providing life skills through sports continues to carry through.
As part of a joint effort to “reclaim” the parks, East Palo Alto T-Ball & Pitching Machine was created. Noticing that the local Ravenswood Little League only served 9-12, the program founders realized that youth needed to be engaged from an earlier age and baseball was a great opportunity. Gene Tate, Sam Jordan, and Ray Kennon came together with three goals in mind
Meet our Board
More than Sports
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Ways to Support
There are several ways that our organization seeks to raise funding to keep the cost of programming low or free to families. Please see below for the best options that suit you. If there is another way that you prefer to give, please reach out to us at admin@epatball.org to discuss how you can impact the young people of East Palo Alto and beyond.