Now that's beautiful

WARWICK — You Are Beautiful People Inc. (Beautiful People) announced Thursday that it was recently awarded a $134,000 grant from the Baseball Tomorrow Fund (BTF). The grant will provide funding for the construction of Daniel Fratto Memorial Field at Wickham Woodlands Town Park in Warwick.
Beautiful People is the Orange County chapter of the Miracle League, a nationally recognized adaptive sports program for children with disabilities. The league served more than 200 children in 2017.
To better accommodate the players and increase participation, the organization plans to construct an accessible baseball field featuring a rubberized playing surface.
The BTF grant will provide funding for the playing surface. Construction will begin immediately and is scheduled to be completed by April 2018.
“On behalf of Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association," said Cathy Bradley, Executive Director of the Baseball Tomorrow Fund. "We applaud organizations that offer opportunities to any and all young ballplayers. Daniel Fratto Memorial Field will be a wonderful home for this league.”
Namesake of the field, Daniel Fratto, was one of the organization’s announcers, a 16-year-old teen, who was honored with Beautiful People during the New York Yankees’ HOPE Week in 2010. His spirit and courage, fighting severe immune deficiency disorder lifelong, brought him into the spotlight for the countless causes he supported. He had taken on the task of helping with funding for the field project, organizing his own events and campaigns resulting in $30,000.
Daniel succumbed to his illness in December 2012. A highlight in his short life was being invited to the booth at Yankee Stadium to announce an inning of the game that day which included calling Derek Jeter to bat. No one before or since had done that except for the legendary Bob Sheppard.
“Countless businesses and individuals have contributed to make this next step in our growth possible, but this award makes this field of dreams a reality for us.” said Jeremy Havens, Secretary and General Counsel for Beautiful People Inc, who submitted the grant proposal to BTF. “The core values of the Baseball Tomorrow Fund were a match, and these funds will enable a new community venue that can accommodate those children and young adults who require walkers and wheelchairs for mobility.”
Those interested in donating to the project may contact Jan Brunkhorst at 845-986-5944.
About You Are Beautiful People Inc.Beautiful People, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, founded by Peter Ladka in 2006, provides adaptive baseball, soccer and basketball for children and young adults with developmental disabilities and physical challenges, ages 5 and up.
The Miracle League model is such that each child is paired by with a mainstream teen or adult volunteer to help as much as is needed to perform skill drills and play the game.