By Michelle Williams
When Carmel resident Rade Savich heard through social media that a group of young children in Serbia needed equipment for their small baseball league, he knew he wanted to help.
Savich has kept in touch with his homeland through his involvement with Lifeline Humanitarian Organization over the years, providing assistance to children residing in orphanages.
Although the organization typically send donations of medical supplies, clothing and necessities, space in one recent shipment was allowed for the baseball gear that Savich collected.
He originally put the word out through family and friends that he was looking for donations. Then he reached out to the Carmel Dads’ Club.
The Dads’ Club was able to produce a bounty of used and surplus gear for Savich’s endeavor — including bats, helmets, shirts and catcher’s equipment.
“If you give this to another baseball league (locally), they’re not going to wear something that says Carmel on it. But to a kid in Serbia, if a shirt says Carmel on it, or a hat says Nissan, it doesn’t matter to them. It’s baseball gear.” Savich said. “(Dads’ Club President Jack Beery) cleaned up their warehouses and let me have it all, and we shipped it to the kids over there.”
Savich said his long-term dream is to help the growing league raise funds and eventually purchase a van. Because of the low participation in the sport in Serbia, teams travel to neighboring countries seeking competition for tournaments. He hopes to round up another shipment of baseball gear, and potentially American football gear, in early 2016.
“It’s pretty cool that it was a small gesture here, but it’s really huge in the hearts of the people and the kids over there,” Savich said. “We’re all trying to get the kids, whether over here or over there, to do better, and have some kind of hope for good things for them.”
