
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, September 14, 1994                   TAG: 9409140052
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: DIANE STRUZZI STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

HITTING HOMERS HELPS A CHILD'S WISH COME TRUE

From the side of the dugout, Steve Hall watched his team. He had sized up the competition moments before. The scenario was all too familiar at Salem's Moyer Sports Complex last weekend.

He touched the brim of his cap, not taking his gaze off the field.

"We're really not any good," he said of his team, a smile creeping across his face.

"I don't know why we all come out here and take a thrashing like we do."

But each year, for the last four years, Hall and his teammates have returned - diligently playing in the annual Virginia State Police Blue-Gray Softball Tournament. The bottom line: It's fun and for a good cause.

"I see a lot of the guys I don't often see," said Hall, a trooper in Giles County who plays on the Wytheville team. "And I guess you could say [my family] also reaped some of the benefits."

The 9-year-old tournament raises money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, a national nonprofit organization that grants wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses. Hall's daughter, Ashley, was granted her wish in 1990, after she was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer that attacked her kidneys and spread to her aorta and pancreas.

Ashley - now 7 and healthy - decided to go to Disney World in Florida "to ride all the fun rides." The whole Hall family went along.

"It's hard to put into words what Make-A-Wish means to us," said Ashley's mom, Tami Hall. "It's something really, really special. What they do is fantastic."

The softball tournament is the brainchild of Trooper Ben Caldwell, who works out of the Virginia State Police office in Salem. At first, it was a way to get troopers from across the state together, he said.

But then Caldwell wanted a purpose for the tournament. He started searching for a charity to rally the teams around. As soon as he found Make-A-Wish, Caldwell said, he stopped looking.

"It's knowing you can help kids," Caldwell said. "You feel like you're giving back something. We give back to the community for being as lucky as we are."

Candie Palen of the Make-A-Wish Foundation in Virginia said there are more than 200 wishes granted each year to sick children in the state. Each wish costs about $3,300 to fulfill. This year, proceeds from the tournament came close to $21,000. Since its inception, the game has donated more than $150,000.

The success of the games has been more than a financial boost for Make-A-Wish, Palen said.

"Their tournament raises a lot of awareness," she said. "People come from all around the state and take the word back to their area."

And while helping a child is the icing on the cake, a taste of victory sure can be sweet. Just ask team members from the Roanoke Police Department.

This year was the first time Caldwell expanded the competition to teams from police, fire and rescue departments in the state. Roanoke earned a towering 3 1/2-foot trophy with a 6-0 record in its division.

"It's for a good cause," said Roanoke Detective Rick Kahl. "And you meet other officers and troopers from around the state. There's not many opportunities to do that. It made for a very nice weekend."

For more information on the Make-A-Wish Foundation, call (800)234-9474.

by CNB