As the Toronto Blue Jays defended their home turf in style with a dominant 9-1 win for a series victory over the Philadelphia Phillies June 5, the team’s charity arm achieved a unique victory of its own just two hours east of the Rogers Centre in Stratford, Ont. 

There, the Huron-Perth Catholic District School Board celebrated the grand opening of the Jays Care Foundation's Field Of Dreams at St. Aloysius Catholic Elementary School. There, school board dignitaries, the Jays Care Foundation’s director of programs, staff and students gathered to unveil a completely renovated, modernized and once-again fully operational clay baseball diamond. 

“There's not a recess that goes by that there aren't students playing on the field. In fact, we’ve had to make a schedule to make sure they all get equal time on it because everyone wants to play on it all the time,” St. Aloysius’ principal Andrea Leroux said. 

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“It has created an increased love of baseball, a real sense of community and just a great space in our school yard. It was just a beautiful, great and wholesome day.”

Following the opening ceremony, thrilled students continued to celebrate the space with members of the Jays Care Foundation Team, leading them through interactive baseball stations, including batting, fielding and pitching relays, as well as the ever-popular freezie refreshment station.  

The afternoon had been anticipated by the St. Aloysius community for the past year after the grant investment exceeding $52,000 was announced in May of last year for the U11-sized field, complete with brand-new covered dugouts. 

While the school had featured a baseball field before, Leroux said it pales in comparison to the newly revitalized space, despite valiant efforts and investment from the  Catholic School Advisory Council in the past.

“People have tried to keep it up, but by the time last summer rolled around, you could hardly see the base paths through the grass and the weeds. What we have now is a total revitalization of our field, complete with base posts and even two covered dugouts,” she said.

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With the field open for recreational use across the broader Stratford area, the grant application, submitted by Grade 8 teacher Janis Antonio, marked the school’s commitment to growing the game of baseball and youth involvement at St. Aloysius and beyond. Leroux says one of the driving forces behind the initial application was to create accessible sports for all.

“Some of our students who may not be able to play organized baseball, whether it's the time their family can commit, the cost of it and even students who may not feel as included, they get to do it here now — and everybody plays together,” she said. 

It’s a mission Jays Care Foundation staff have taken notice of, one of the many reasons they, along with TD, help with such an undertaking. 

“As a proud Jays Care Affiliate School, St. Aloysius has demonstrated a strong commitment to making sport more accessible and inclusive for youth by running our Girls At Bat program for the past three years. This Field Of Dreams project will deepen that commitment by providing even more young people with the opportunity to get active, learn from positive role models, and build meaningful friendships,” said Shari Ralph-Topolie, the director of finance and operations with Jays Care Foundation. 

“Beyond their involvement with us, we were excited to learn that the City of Stratford has waived permit fees for sports facilities, making them more accessible to local user groups. This means the field won’t just benefit the students of St. Aloysius. It will serve the broader community as well, creating more opportunities for inclusive play and engagement,” she added. 

Jays Care Foundation has been operating its Field Of Dreams program for over 23 years and has funded nearly 250 unique projects with investments totalling over $21 million, with the foundation and TD having dedicated over $1.5 million in vital community infrastructure investments across Canada in 2024 alone. 

Apart from identifying schools, providing grants and celebrating grand openings, Jays Care staff are sure to stay in contact with all of their Field Of Dreams partners, gaining updates on the field’s condition and keeping track of how many students and youth in the community are utilizing the diamond for baseball programming. These updates help the team better understand the impact and significance of each field, as well as how each diamond is helping to grow baseball in communities across Canada.

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“Sport has the power to break down barriers, and by creating safe, inclusive spaces for kids to play, learn and build lasting friendships, we’re strengthening communities and helping young people access opportunities to be physically active, which supports their physical and mental health,” Ralph-Topolie said. 

St. Aloysius is already gearing up for two separate 2-pitch tournaments for its Grade 5-6 and Grade 7-8 students in the coming weeks, with plans for an annual tournament starting next year.