SerpApi.Org
For two brothers in Clarkston, Michigan, wiffle ball is not just a friendly game; it's an opportunity to bring people together and uplift a local historical church in need.
"If you build it, they will come," said Joseph Rinehart, co-founder of the Rinehart Wiffleball League.
What started off as a love for a backyard sport has turned into a league of its own.
"They made a makeshift field out of a tiny area and made a cardboard backstop," said the Rinehart brothers' grandmother, Cindy Hooper.
It's a sport that requires a plastic bat, no baseball glove, and a lightweight ball with holes in it, hence the name of the game. But for Joseph and Johnathan Rinehart, it's more than a friendly game, which made them "go the distance".
"We figured maybe we have a whole bunch of people here, give it a try as a whole group and start a league out of it," said Joseph Rinehart.
With six teams, the Rinehart Wiffleball League is Clarkson's latest pastime.
"We have had anybody from middle schoolers to people in their mid-40s show up. I mean, it's for everybody, and to be clear, the middle schoolers are one of the better team," said Johnathan Rinehart.
The league has gotten the community's attention with several local business sponsorships and even has its own field, streaming, and playback system.
But as for the location, it hits close to home, right in their grandmother's backyard.
"I thought it was going to be just a few friends playing wiffle ball, and little did I know here we are several years later with all this," said Hooper.
The wiffle ball league really knocked it out of the park when they used their momentum for a good cause.
"We have been working really hard to get the word out," said co-president of the Community Committee for Sashabaw Presbyterian Church, Abigail Lee-Wright.
For two years, a committee has been working to restore the historic community center, built in the 1800s.
"Votings were held in the building, which means they would have voted for Abraham Lincoln in the building, which is amazing," said Lee-Wright.
The Rinehart brothers recognized the need online and stepped in to host a tournament at the church.
"They raised over $600 in that day towards the painting of the church, which is so amazing," said Lee-Wright. "I mean, when you hear about it, you think it sounds silly, but it really means a lot to these people," said Lee-Wright.
