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By NATHAN HOWELL | Special to the Reporter

HELENA – After taking into consideration the questions and concerns from parents and players over the COVID-19 pandemic, the Helena Miracle League will be moving forward with its fall baseball program.

The Helena Miracle League was founded with the mission of providing opportunities to children with disabilities to play baseball through the miracle league.

Mary Chambliss, who founded the league, said that after playing their first game back in the spring they were forced to shut down due to the pandemic. After speaking with parents and players, she said that there was enough support to be able to continue the league in October.

“We had done an online survey with our parents and players asking them how they feel about moving forward. Enough people said that they were comfortable for us to move forward,” Chambliss said. “I spoke with the Miracle League home office and they gave us guidelines we could follow.”

The league gives those with disabilities the opportunity to not only get out and play baseball, but be around friends and meet new people, which can often be difficult. The return of that aspect is what excites Chambliss the most.

“I am looking forward to just getting everyone out there and letting the players play baseball and develop their social skills and see their friends. They haven’t seen each other in a while,” she said. “It means a lot because our special needs community has really been hunkered down because of COVID. Our kids’ health is so at risk with everyone’s different disabilities. It’ll be really good for them all to get out there and we are going to make it work.”

The Helena Miracle League will play every Saturday in October with start times scheduled fora 9 a.m.

Those interested in playing can email Helenamiracleleauge@hotmail.com or visit the Helena Miracle League Facebook page.

The league is always accepting volunteers who are comfortable being around others during this time, and donations to help build their field.