Nov 12, 2017 2 min read

Washington County Community Foundation recently announced a $6,000 grant to Burgettstown Area Youth Baseball Association through the the Joseph F. Perkins Fund.

Perkins, a Burgettstown native, spent most of his career as a truck drive, hauling steel produced at Weirton, (W.Va.) Steel Corp. He was also a relentless inventor and received a copyright for a few of his designs.

The Joseph F. Perkins Fund was created in 2002 by a bequest from Perkins to the Community Foundation. The direction from Mr. Perkins was that his gift be used to support youth programming in the Burgettstown area. It was the first bequest the WCCF had ever received.

Throughout the years, the fund has issued numerous small grants to organizations providing programs for Burgettstown youth. As the final grant from the fund was considered, foundation leaders were seeking a project that would have a significant and long-term impact.

The project selected was the baseball and softball complex upgrade of the Burgettstown Area Youth Baseball Association. The $6,000 grant will be used to add another batting cage and hitting area, bullpen areas at two of the fields, and replacement of the wooden spectator bleachers.

“This project was selected because of its significant impact over a sustained period of time,” said Betsie Trew, WCCF president and CEO. “We are very grateful to Mr. Perkins for his generosity that will benefit thousands of Burgettstown youth over many years.”