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News
PRESS: Toddlers, seniors benefit from CC’s foundation
ShareBy Rich Freedman
(appeared in the Vallejo Times Herald 12/4/2011)
CC Sabathia is finally able to parlay his experience working in the biggest jungle of ‘em all — New York City — into something on a much smaller, yet effective, scale.
Thanks to the Yankee star’s PitCCh In Foundation, “CC’s Jungle” toddler play area is almost unveiled at Youth and Family Services on Tennessee Street.The renovation is part of CC and Amber Sabathia’s second “Christmas Caravan” that includes renovation of the Crest Gardens at the Vallejo Adult School, a “Kaiser Kids Holiday Party” at Kaiser Permanente Vallejo, and a foster teenager ferry tip to San Francisco that includes shopping spree at Nike Town and dinner at the Cheesecake Factory.
For Stephen Eriksen, the foundation’s director of development, the Dec. 19 ribbon cutting that includes CC’s mom, Margie Sabathia Lanier, isn’t just a chance for the community to see the Sabathias do some actual gardening, but another opportunity for Eriksen to confound the former Vallejo High School standout with appalling apparel.
“I love giving him things he won’t wear,” grinned Eriksen, decked out in his PitCCh In “Green Team” overalls at the Crest Gardens early Friday afternoon.
Already that day, thick green foliage was removed and cement poured at Youth and Family Services. What was previously unusable will soon be an outdoor animal-theme play area, Eriksen said, adding that the boss himself vetoed a veritable “Field of Dreams” decor.“He’s like, ‘Too much baseball,’” Eriksen said. “These are kids, 3 and under. CC’s decision was ‘don’t do baseball.’ It was back to the drawing board.”
So the foundation staff came up with animals on panels with no permanent fixtures. Working with Mattel, there will be various Fisher Price water toys and kid vehicles to drive around, Eriksen said.
The Sabathias are expected to get down on kids’ level with 30 young ones Dec. 16 and not just sign off on the project, Eriksen said.
“They’re hands on,” he noted.
As for the Crest Gardens, it’ll all be spruced up for the the holidays.Only a few blocks where CC grew up, the ground-level gardens will be eliminated for container space, making it more accessible to seniors. A row of eucalyptus trees will get a “five year” trimming, and walk-ways will be made safer. Also, Sign-O-Rama will add several new signs, replacing well-worn ones.
“The outdoors are just going to be beautiful,” Eriksen said. “I think it’ll look fantastic.”
The entire month-long’s worth of projects began back in February when Sabathia and the foundation staff met in Spring Training. Previous foundation projects included the Continentals of Omega Boys and Girls Club and the North Vallejo Little League where CC played.
Amber oversees the projects from offices here and in the New York area.
“These are pretty big undertakings,” Eriksen said. “But I think they’re the right things for CC to do. They’re still small but impactful.”
Because the foundation is only a few years old, “we’re doing projects we’re comfortable doing,” Eriksen said. “We’re not building a grandiose Sabathia sports complex or a state-of-the art learning lab. We’re not built or prepared to do those things. We’re built to do small projects now and on a cycle over several years.”
The key, said Eriksen, is to “take a project off someone else’s ‘to do’ list and allow them to use their funds elsewhere.”
The foundation makes a point into never promising more than it can do, Eriksen said.
“Our biggest problem is to under-promising and over-delivering,” he said.
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