Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Baseball superstar visits Kennett Square
A baseball superstar who graced the covers of Sports Illustrated and Time magazines visits Kennett Square.
KENNETT SQUARE » A baseball superstar who graced the covers of Sports Illustrated and Time magazines visited Kennett Square last Thursday to tell people just how important it is to have a mentor in their lives.
Mo’ nee Davis, who played with the Taney Dragons in the 2014 Little League World Series and was the first girl to earn a win and to pitch a shutout in Little League World Series history, visited the Garage Youth Center in Kennett Square at the Chester County Mentor Partnership Kickoff event. Valley Youth House partnered with the Chester County Office of Children and Youth to provide opportunities for young people to get ahead in life.
The Chester County Mentoring Partnership will not be able to create collaborative links between the Chester County Department of Children and Youth and community-based mentoring organizations, with a focus on children receiving foster care and in-home servicing from Chester County.
Davis, 17, credited her coach and mentor, Steve Bandura, for her success.
“He is one person I have always looked up to,” Davis said. “He opened doors to many different opportunities for me. He told me there was nothing I couldn’t do.”
Davis and Bandura were honored with the Legacy Award at the 2015 Up2Us Sports Gala for demonstrating the power of a just how far a good coach can take an athlete.
Davis said her favorite sport now is basketball and one day hopes to be a professional women’s basketball player, or coach a soccer team.
Partners with this initiative include Chester County
Department of Children and Youth, Valley Youth House, The Garage, Mentor Independence Region, Oxford Educational Foundation, The Point and Westside Community Center.
In addition to providing homes for Pennsylvania’s vulnerable, abused, and homeless youth, Valley Youth House partners with thousands of individuals each year to build a solid foundation for young people and their families. With dedicated street outreach, housing, counseling, skills training, health, prevention, and intervention services, we empower resilient young people in establishing promising futures.