KCK RBI breaks ground on new field.

On Tuesday, KCK RBI broke ground on its first field in the Barton – Ross Complex, formerly the Wyandotte County 3&2. This field is the first phase of the complex renovation, which when complete, will house a baseball field, a softball field and a facility for year round studying, tutoring and mentoring.

KCK RBI Founder and Freightquote Culture and Community Relations Manager, Cle Ross shared, "This is what it's like for dreams to come true. We've been working towards this since gaining ownership of the fields in 2008. This is a blessing to the children and the community. I'm grateful to all of the individuals and organizations that made this a reality."

When Ross was playing baseball at Kansas City Community College, he ran by the unused and neglected 3&2 complex regularly, vowing that someday children would return to playing ball on those fields. With organizations like the Kansas City Royals, Royals Charities, Freightquote, the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation, the Baseball Tomorrow Fund and Major League Baseball joining in this mission, Ross will see kids playing there next season.

"The groundbreaking is great, but there is even more to come. Next will be the softball field for the girls, then the tutoring and mentoring building. We'll continue to raise funds for these projects along with the upkeep and cost for the children to play," said Freightquote founder and KCK RBI Advisory Board member Tim Barton as a reminder that there is still work to do.

Tim Barton, Freightquote founder; Cle Ross, KCK RBI founder; Matt Druten, Freightquote President

The enthusiasm and joy of the children who will play on the brand new fields is what makes that work worthwhile. Peyton Parks, a 10-year-old slugger who plays in KCK RBI's program tells us, "This is exciting because I get a brand new field to play on. We work hard in our league and KCK RBI has done a lot to get here."

Peyton Parks

KCK RBI is a non-profit organization that teaches physical fitness, teamwork, leadership and life skills, with an emphasis on education through baseball and softball to foster a healthier future for the children who participate. There are currently more than 1,000 children in the program, and is expected to grow to 3,000 in the next five years.

Freightquote is proud to support KCK RBI. If you're interested in contributing to this great program, visit kckrbi.org.