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This teacher needs your help!

Mr. Cembala from Chicago IL is requesting sports & exercise equipment through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

See what Mr. Cembala is requesting

Hitting Life's Curve Balls

My students need access to a pitching machine so they can be well-prepared for our upcoming baseball season and improve their batting skills to be able to continue playing baseball after high school and semi-professionally.

  • $2,654 goal

Hooray! This project is fully funded

Hooray! This project is fully funded

Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month

Celebrate Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month

This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.

My Students

Our students are from very hard-working families located in the communities of the South East Side of Chicago where steel mills once employed many close-knit neighborhoods. However, most of the jobs and social mobility have long since departed our families. Our student athletes are some of our hardest working students who often juggle schoolwork, in addition to practice time and often part time jobs and family obligations.

These students often dream of playing baseball after high school, however, our school has a lack of baseball resources to help prepare them for this opportunity.

My Project

Our student athletes do not have access to a pitching machine to conduct indoor batting practice and therefore, are not able to be fully prepared for our spring season- every year. There are no local batting cages in or within twenty miles of out school, so our student athletes only receive minimal coach-thrown batting practice which is timely, exhausting, and inefficient. Being able to use a pitching machine will help all of our student athletes grow the confidence in themselves and their abilities for many years to come. Furthermore, students who dream of playing collegiate baseball will be better prepared for these opportunities. Many of our students have had enough curve balls thrown at them by life already, and having a Pitching Machine will symbolize our school's ability to persevere in and off the baseball diamond. Lastly, our students are much safer being in our gym doing BP than being in the neighborhood, and a Pitching Machine will allow us to attract and retain the most at-risk students who often find practice boring.

Mr. Cembala
Grades 9-12

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TEACHERS, FEELING INSPIRED?

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Where Your Donation Goes

Where your donation goes
Materials Cost Quantity Total
JUGS Changeup Baseball Pitching Machine - No Color • DICK'S Sporting Goods $1,995.99 1 $1,995.99

Materials cost

$1,995.99

Vendor shipping charges

 $199.60

Sales tax

 $0.00

3rd party payment processing fee

$29.94

Fulfillment labor & materials

$30.00

Total project cost

$2,255.53

Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

$398.03

Total project goal

$2,653.56

How we calculate what's needed

Total project goal

 $2,653.56

5 Donors

-$2,653.56

Donations toward project cost

-$2,255.53

Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$398.03

Still needed View calculationHide calculation

 $0.00

Our team works hard to negotiate the best pricing and selections available.

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Project Activity

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DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Mr. Cembala and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.

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