Going to bat for hunger
Plymouth baseball, softball, youth teams rally for huge food drive
With the spring baseball season canceled by the coronavirus pandemic, Plymouth North coach Dwayne Follette wanted to do something special for his team — especially his seniors who didn’t get the chance to take the field one last time. He knew his team’s rivals at Plymouth South faced the same struggles.
A week ago, the rivals joined forces to strike out a common foe. With the blessing of Plymouth Public Schools Superintendent Gary Maestas, the Plymouth North and Plymouth South baseball and softball teams combined to run the Plymouth North Food Drive Challenge, going to bat for the entire town of Plymouth.
Follette came up with the idea after seeing a story with his wife Dori as Whitman-Hanson eighthgrader Clare Lamattia was featured raising money for a local food pantry.
“We first made a call to the South Shore Community Action Council to see if they would be on board and once the SSCAC agreed to participate, I called (Plymouth South coach) Walt Fust, I contacted Sue Harrison, our head softball coach and it grew from there’” said Follette. “The day couldn’t have gone any better, so it was a great day for the North and South programs. We just wanted to create a positive event for the hand we were dealt.”
The Plymouth Babe Ruth chapter caught wind of the plan; then Plymouth South Little League and Plymouth Youth Baseball and Softball
also jumped on board to morph the effort into a huge community event. Follette’s idea was to “fill the infield” with food donations for local children and families.
“This was one of the best things we have ever done and in a time of need that goes directly to the people feeding the less fortunate,” said Follette.
Despite inclement weather of rain, wind, sleet, and snow throughout the day, hundreds of helping hands came through in a curbside-only, drop-off affair. Plymouth residents came in droves as seniors from North and South volunteered their time to collect and stack the contributions. The drive yielded 2,953 pounds of nonperishable items.
“It was cool with all the different groups working together and at the end seeing the magnitude of what we collected throughout the day was amazing. It was good to see everyone’s face even though we aren’t playing ball,” said Plymouth North senior captain Jeff Rodden, who is headed to Wentworth Institute of Technology with his 4.6 GPA to study biomedical engineering, as well as pitch for the Leopards next spring.
Follette’s players dressed in their home jerseys.
Senior Scotty Petersen noted this was his final time on the field as a Plymouth North Eagle.
“When I was leaving, it dawned on me that it was the last time I would wear the uniform,” said the senior, who is also a National Honor Society member with Rodden and heads to Lasell University to study pre-law and play for the Lasers as a catcher-outfielder in 2021. “These are absolutely tough times but while it is saddening, it provides motivation and we can use it to our advantage in the community. Our community showed that Plymouth sports is always willing to lend a helping hand and we are doing what we can to get through it.”
The South Shore Community Action Council provides school lunches to children in need throughout the Plymouth area. CEO Jack Cocio of the SSCAC estimated the food drive would produce at least 2,200 meals.
“This was quite a drive and people did an amazing job. This drive provides a need as food is a major stressor for families in a very difficult time right now,” said Cocio. “In comparison to last year, we are up over 50% in terms of providing the amount of food needed. Community members, banks, and so many others are our lifeline as we extend to Marshfield, Middleboro, and the Cape to get food to families on a weekly basis.”
Maestas praised Follette for coming up with the idea.
“Dwayne is the heartbeat of these things in our community and it was an impressive feat by our teams across the board. This came together very nicely as we talk often about supporting families and kids, so it was the perfect fit,” said Maestas, who is stepping down as Plymouth superintendent after 12 years and 31 years as an educator. “Dwayne has a lot of benefits with teaching kids the game of baseball but what is more important is his heart and he’s centered around our mission. Dwayne’s motivation is primarily to help families and the success of what we saw is what Dwayne did selflessly.”