Take Us Out To The Ball Game – West Side Business Association Gives Back
This past Sunday, the Jefferson City West Side Business Association suited up for a fun filled day at the Springfield Cardinals game. The trip, a collaboration between the West Side Business Association and Classic Travel and Tours, loaded up on a USA Tours charter bus and headed to the Expedia Redbird Roost in Springfield, MO. This year, their tour bus had some extra passengers. With less than a week left before the game and several tickets unaccounted for, JCWSBA President Emily Meldrem contacted the Day Solutions Foundation who had presented to the group earlier in May. “We didn’t want the tickets to go to waste, and we thought donating them to the Foundation would be a good way to give back to the community and to individuals who deserve it,” said Emily. With a son who has Asperger’s Syndrome, the Meldrem family has spent many years volunteering for other special needs organizations such as Special Olympics.
The West Side Business Association donated five tickets costing $75 each to DSF who was able to round up five very excited individuals to attend. DSF then matched that donation by purchasing five additional tickets for volunteers and staff to accompany them. The cost of the ticket included a roundtrip bus ride from the Jefferson City Capital Mall, to the Springfield Cardinals Game, where guests enjoyed unlimited concessions, free Springfield Cardinals Baseball hats, and a chance for both groups to gear up for some crowd participation activities. Officers and board members of the West Side Business Association got the crowd riled up as they sprinted through the outfield trying to catch pop flies during the third, and participants from DSF took turns singing mouthpiece karaoke and dancing on the Jumbotran to Despacito and Let it Go in the middle of the fifth. The game was a close call with Tulsa taking the win 6-5.
The West Side Business Association’s day at the ballgame was a fun event held in addition to their upcoming Picnic in the Park barbeque fundraiser which supports their local Scholarship Fund. The fund awards scholarships, in the amount of $1000, to graduating high school seniors in our community who work for, or whose parents work for, members of the association. 
Picnic in the Park will be held at Memorial Park on Tuesday, September 12 from 5 to 7 p.m. and features a silent auction and BBQ chicken, pork steaks, and beverages. Tickets are $12 in advance and includes a bottomless cup. Children under 12 are free, and ticket prices will be $15 the day of the event. The organization is also still accepting donations for the silent auction. To make a donation, or to purchase tickets, please contact Ashli Bowman, 573-387-7515, Danny Robinett, 573-680-3662, or Emily Meldrem at 573-338-2227. So come out and support the JCWSBA and the many creative ways in which they give back to our community, like the Springfield Cardinals ballgame, a day the friends of the Day Solutions Foundation will cherish forever.
Read more from Tiffany Burns and the Day Solutions Foundation here.