After Hurricanes Helene and Milton struck St. Petersburg, Florida, in late 2024, local communities across the state were reeling from the damage left behind. However, volunteers like Dondi and Matt Schneider wasted no time stepping up to the plate to help Little League® families in their own community recover, focusing their efforts around restoring the fields of Northeast Little League and bringing their community members together to reach the goal of starting the 2025 season on time.
“We were trying to create a space where Little League was viewed as an outlet and a beacon of light,” said Dondi, Northeast LL Information Officer. “That was the goal. People asked what we needed, what they could do, and what was on the list. Maybe they had some of those things, or maybe their company could provide some of those things, and so, at that point, it was really amazing to see people come together.”
Like many volunteers around the world, Dondi and Matt became involved with their local league when they signed their kids up for Tee Ball and quickly took on various volunteer roles to help out when they weren’t cheering in the stands. In 2020, Dondi joined the league’s Board of Directors as League Information Officer. Though not on the board, Matt has worked to bring in sponsorships, donations, and more parents to the table to help Northeast LL, and before the hurricanes, he was made the lead of the league’s longevity and restoration efforts. Their joint efforts to build up the league helped make their work after the hurricanes both successful and efficient, so they could meet their goals according to their timeline.
“Matt and I have worked well together on this,” said Dondi. “With myself on the forefront of creating an outlet for the players and their families, while Matt is creating the to-do list to get the league up and running by spring, that combination has worked well and thankfully seemed to get it done. The community really came together for it.”
Once that to-do list became clear, the Schneiders brought it to the board for the next steps so that Matt could begin checking each item off the list. Whether that meant collecting supplies to complete a task or checking with potential vendors, Matt worked around the clock to keep the efforts on track.
“I’m the type of person who may not know how to do something, but that doesn’t stop me from doing it,” said Matt. “So, when something’s not getting done, I can’t sit back and watch and let things take forever. I knew someone needed to step up, and Dondi and I were willing to put time, effort, and skin into the game. It was just the fact that it needed to be done, and someone needed to do it.”
The Schneiders’ approach to rebuilding Northeast LL was contagious to their community members, as many rallied around what Dondi and Matt had started shortly after Hurricane Milton. After a dumpster was donated to the field, Dondi put the message out that it would be picked up the following morning. By the end of the day, enough people came by to clean up the field and filled the entire dumpster. The Schneiders’ work was their way of trying to restore normalcy for the kids in their community. After months of hard work and picking up one pile of debris after another, the community checked off plenty of boxes from the Schneiders’ to-do list.
“About two months ago, one of the board members turned to me and said, ‘You sure do talk a lot,’” Matt recalled. “We were in a board meeting, and I was giving him an update on our recovery efforts and the field conditions, and said, ‘Look at the positive side, I talked way longer four months ago.’ The list is becoming much shorter, but the list will never be done. There will always be somebody wanting to make the league better.”
Social media proved to be one of Dondi’s most effective tools in organizing and putting plans for cleanup days or donation days into action. While some of the posts immediately after the hurricanes were hard to look away from, they not only highlighted the need for people’s help in rebuilding the league’s facilities but also expanded Northeast LL’s social media presence. Now, more than a month into the 2025 season, the Schneiders have planned improvements for the league beyond recovery efforts like turfing the Tee Ball fields to provide the players with an experience they will want to return to year after year.
“The work at Little League is never done,” said Dondi. “Little League means something different to everybody. I played in it, Matt played in it, and our kids play in it now. A lot of times, parents or community members have a connection to Little League outside of their own childhood. We just kept trying to tie it to different parts of their life and keep that connection point, and I think that tends to create some inspiration.”
For their efforts within their community and with Northeast Little League, Matt and Dondi were recognized as Little League® Community Heroes, Presented by New York Life. Since 2020, the Community Heroes recognition program has highlighted those dedicated individuals who not only volunteer their time at your local Little League program but also contribute in other ways to make the community better. For those looking to step up to the plate in their community and make a difference in improving or rebuilding their local league, Matt shared this piece of advice.
“My mom always said, ‘What’s the worst that could happen? They could say, no?’ All you have to do is ask,” said Matt. “I think that’s the biggest thing, is putting your hand out, and a lot of times people will help. Asking is half the battle. A lot of people stepped up, and the league wouldn’t be able to keep going if it weren’t for many of them. We saw people in our community really step up, and to get that result, the first step is to just ask them.”
To support local Little League programs in need following moments of devastation, Little League International has also created its Disaster Relief Fund, focused on helping affected Little League programs receive the support they need to rebuild, recover, and continue providing children with the invaluable life lessons learned through youth baseball and softball. To learn more about this fund and to donate to support leagues in need, visit LittleLeague.org/Impact.