Post & Courier Baseball Feature

Sowers of the Kingdom’s baseball ministry was recently highlighted in the local Charleston, SC newspaper. The source article can be found here.

Charleston-area Little League donates baseball gear to children in the Dominican Republic

By Maddy Quon

August 15, 2025

JOHNS ISLAND — The Barrier Islands Little League and a religious nonprofit have teamed up to donate baseball equipment to around 75 youth players in the Dominican Republic for the second year in a row.

With the help of the Little League program, nonprofit Sowers of the Kingdom — a religious foundation dedicated to outreach in the Dominican Republic — delivered 22 large duffel bags filled with over two dozen baseball bats, 50 pairs of cleats, 20 pairs of new pants and more to kids in the town Las Terrenas who otherwise wouldn't have access to the athletic gear.

It's the second year that Johns Island resident Erika Gray has spearheaded the effort to give children in the D-R baseball equipment.

After visiting Las Terrenas in 2023 as part of a week-long mission trip, Gray said she and her children realized the boys in town didn't have athletic gear — yet they still played baseball every afternoon.

"They play with a stick and a ball," Gray’s 11-year-old daughter Jordan said.

After getting back to Johns Island, she thought about the Barrier Islands Little League — it happened to be the first year she signed her kids up to play. Gray said she realized how the league had so much equipment and how young people outgrow their athleticwear after one season, making it perfect for donation.

Gray proposed the idea to the Little League’s board, which quickly supported the plan.

Craig Orenstein, president of the league, said he put out boxes at the baseball fields for people to drop off donations. With hundreds of youths signed up for baseball, Orenstein said it didn't take long for the boxes to overflow with donations.

He added that he and other volunteers started fixing any broken equipment, sewing up any rips in uniforms players outgrew.

Orenstein said the donation effort has encouraged parents to stop throwing away clothing and gear their kids may have outgrown or broken.

"If you just take some time, you can fix it and make it right," he said.

After collecting donations year-round and taking items from the lost and found that were never picked up, Gray and several volunteers packed the equipment into bags and brought it to Las Terrenas for the first time in June 2024. The children were thrilled to get the equipment, she said.

This year, the donations continued. Gray said she hopes for the Little League and nonprofit foundation to continue making annual donations.

Luis Comas, one of the pastors in Las Terrenas, told The Post and Courier the players were "eagerly trying on their gloves, helmets and cleats, and practicing swings with their bats" when they received the donations in June. He added watching the kids play baseball with the proper equipment was an absolute delight.

Gray and her children were invited to play baseball after sharing the donations. While Gray was limited in her Spanish and the townspeople didn’t know English, she said it didn’t matter.

"Baseball is just one of those things where you can form that bond, just out of love of the game and love for each other," Gray said.