Southern Tier Tuesdays: Binghamton Youth Sports Association awarded $2,000 grant

BINGHAMTON (WBNG) -- Binghamton Youth Sports Association is this week’s winner of a $2,000 grant from Upstate Shredding through Southern Tier Tuesdays.

The Binghamton Youth Sports Association (BYSA) began in January 2022, consisting of volunteers from the area in partnership with the City of Binghamton Parks and Recreation Department. Binghamton Youth Sports Association President Paul White said BYSA strives to educate, empower and equip youth leaders, parents and volunteers.

“Our goal is to make a better program for the youth in the area and make sure that they have a free experience that’s competitive and safe in the City of Binghamton,” White said.

Roughly 1,000 children participate in this program.

“It ranges from football to baseball, basketball and cheerleading,” White said. “We have all genders and all ages from 6-years-old to 16.”

This is a free sports experience.

“We just want to make sure that everyone has a free experience and that we donate money to make sure the equipment is up to par and everyone is safe and they never have to pay anything,” White said.

BYSAs first major event was Little League Opening Day Ceremony, the first in Binghamton Little League History.

“We put that together to announce for the softball and baseball players they got to hear their names over the loudspeaker, run out on the field, lineup on the field and we had vendors that came out to support the community,” White said. “We don’t want to just focus on the kids we want to make it a community thing so that everyone in the area can experience the fun.”

BYSA has opened concession stands at the little league fields that haven’t been used in a decade.

This grant money will be utilized for new jerseys for the upcoming sporting season and entry fees for the current baseball/softball Allstar Tournament.

BYSA has a Big Zeus Barbecue fundraiser on June 10.

Order in or take out all day and a percentage of the order will be donated to the BYSA.

Southern Tier Tuesdays is a philanthropic endeavor of Adam Weitsman, owner of Upstate Shredding, and his daughter, Clover. For more information or to nominate a Southern Tier non-profit go to southerntiertuesdays.com.