Take needy children who are sports fans, caring city residents, and community minded corporate sponsors and what do you get?
You have a recipe for a successful, holiday charitable effort that helps underprivileged youngsters while also making everyone feel good about themselves and society as a whole.
That’s according to Bayonne resident and longtime baseball coach Michael Miselis, who for the eighth year is spearheading his Make a Kid Smile fundraiser.
Miselis, 52, a coach for 37 years and founder of the Cal Ripken League in Bayonne, said that his love of the game was the spark for what has now become an annual event in town.
“You don’t realize what a pair of sneakers is to somebody, especially for families that are less fortunate.” – Michael Miselis
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“It started very innocently,” he said. “It’s one of those weird things that happen.”
Driving past the 11th Street field on Avenue E about this time of year eight years ago, he spied a
handful of children playing baseball.
Not only was it cold for the kids to be playing, but they didn’t even have the proper equipment, Miselis noticed.
“You could see they were less fortunate,” he said. “They had paper-bag bases, a wooden bat, and one ball. But they were just having the time of their lives playing. I found it amazing.”
Wanting to enrich their sandlot experience, Miselis parked, got out of his car, and threw bases and baseballs, equipment he already had in his car, over the fence to the youngsters to use in their game.
It was a euphoric moment for both the players and the concerned passersby.
“They were just incredibly thankful, they were going nuts,” Miselis said. “They got so excited. It was an awesome sight, that they just thought it was the greatest thing in the world. It was like I threw over uniforms.”
Still excited about the interaction, Miselis arrived home, told his wife about what had happened, and then the proverbial light bulb went off in his head. Why not start a fund so underprivileged sports fans could have a little bit better Christmas or whatever holiday they celebrated this time of year.
Maybe he could take a little bit larger group of children to a sporting goods store, give them a set amount of money to spend, and watch them enjoy.
A blast email, only asking for a couple dollars for those who could afford it, got the ball rolling. But within days, Miselis’’s expectations were far exceeded.
“The first year we raised close to $4,000,” he said. “All I was expecting was to get a couple hundred.”
Footlocker, a league sponsor, also threw $1,000 into the pot.
And then Miselis, and 40 needy kids, as determined by principals in their Bayonne public schools, were off to a day of shopping in a Jersey City sporting goods store. Each received a stipend of $100 to purchase whatever they wanted. And it was a grand sight to see.
“For the kids coming from families that are struggling, it was an awesome thing,” Miselis said.
Filling the carts were sneakers, skateboards, jerseys of favorite teams, other sports attire, basketballs, and other sporting equipment.
Virtually every year since that first one the fund drive has continued to expand. But the need is still there, growing each year along with the donations.
More than $6,500 was raised last year. For four years, sporting goods store Modell’s has been a sponsor.
Miselis said he believes the program continues to receive the donations it does because of the trust city residents have in it, knowing the money is going for what it is supposed to.
“I reach out to every public school in Bayonne,” he said. “They get excited and pumped about it too. They know the kids. They know their stories.”
Each child represents a family in need. One had a father who has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or “Lou Gehrig’s Disease.” Many others are single-parent families.
“It does make a difference with the kids, and makes us parents know there are still kind and caring people who are willing to make kids smile even when their parents can’t,” said Robin, a grateful mother.
Last year, there were 65 children who got to go with Miselis on the Light Rail ride to the Jersey City Modell’s store.
“The adrenaline this time of the year is great,” Miselis said. “I’m so pumped and happy I can do this.”
This year’s shopping excursion will take place on Dec. 21, just a few days before Christmas. Miselis is hoping Bayonne residents and others will again be as generous to the drive as their wallets and pocketbooks will allow them to be.
By Thanksgiving, the fund already had $1,000 in it. But several thousand dollars more are needed just to take the same number of children as last year.
So Miselis is asking for help once again, pointing out that 100 percent of what is raised goes directly to the children. He and others volunteer their time each year to the Make a Kid Smile campaign.
Miselis never thought the fund would get this big, but he’s glad that it did. More than $40,000 has been raised over the last seven years, and more than 500 children have been helped over that time.
“It just kind of brings you back to your roots; you become more grateful for what you have,” he said. “You don’t realize what a pair of sneakers is to somebody, especially for families that are less fortunate.”
Those wishing to donate to the 501c-registered charity should make their checks out to Bayonne Cal Ripken Baseball, and in the memo line write: Make a Kid Smile. Donations should be sent to
PO Box 3260, Bayonne, NJ 07002.
For more information, contact Miselis at mmiselis@aol.com or (201) 436-8787.
Joseph Passantino may be reached at JoePass@hudsonreporter.com.