Diamonds and Dreams

October 23, 2012 12:05 pm CT

Summer afternoons at the baseball field were a rite of passage as a kid. Summer break was spent with friends, running around the neighborhood and playing on a field that had seen better days. I count myself among the lucky ones; our field was not well-manicured, but it was clean, and there were lights to keep us on the field until just before bedtime.

Unfortunately, not all kids have the same opportunities to enjoy the American pastime in their own neighborhood, which is why Chevrolet joined the Diamonds and Dreams program in 2010. As the official vehicle of Major League Baseball, we believe we can play as much a role in supporting the game in backyards as we can in the big leagues. Chevy supports the communities in which its customers live, work and play.

The Diamonds and Dreams program is simple – residents submitted nominations of the fields and towns they felt deserved a renovation. Each field selected this year was eligible to receive awards of up to $20,000 for field makeovers. Of the twelve fields selected nationally in 2012, two of the fields were in the Chicagoland area.

On October 13, 2012, Arbor View Park in West suburban Lisle, Ill. hosted a ribbon cutting celebrating the redesign. The makeover of a field in south suburban Manteno, Ill. is still underway. To date the program has supported the makeover of 37 fields, turning neighborhood fields into diamonds in the rough.