For more than five decades, female athletes, coaches, and volunteers have made a lasting impact both on a Little League® diamond and in their communities. Honoring these 50 years of girls and women within local league programs across the world, Little League launched its 2024 Girls with Game® 50 Grant Program in coordination with the year-long #GWG50 Celebration and the organization’s continued commitment to female inclusion.
After receiving nearly 200 applications and reviewing the needs of those leagues, Little League distributed more than $229,000 in funding to a total of 54 local league programs to help enhance the experience and provide opportunities in both league enhancement and volunteer development. Among those 54 leagues selected are Gateway LL (Mt. Sterling, Ky.); North Tahoe LL (Incline, Nev.); South Kingstown (R.I.) American LL; and Kent (Wash.) LL.
To learn more about the four programs, Little League sat down with leadership from each league for a Local League Spotlight, a series of content created to help other leagues learn from each other’s success stories. Below, you will find how each league used its grants to help grow its softball programs.
North Tahoe Little League (Incline, Nev., and Tahoe City, Calif.)
In the North Tahoe Region that spans from Olympic Valley, California, to Incline Village, Nevada, girls had historically only had the option to play baseball as youth softball wasn’t offered locally.
In 2024, North Tahoe LL proudly expanded programming to include Spring Softball for young girls, marking a monumental shift in participation opportunities for young female athletes. In its first season as a chartered Little League Softball® program in 2024, North Tahoe LL saw a remarkable 192% increase in girls’ participation, with more than 70 girls joining the league.
To ensure every player would feel safe and have a fun time on the diamond, the league used its #GWG50 grant funding to purchase equipment and uniforms for all six newly chartered teams across three divisions of play, allowing the league to compete against a neighboring league for the first time.
“Equipment was a big thing for us to focus on because we wanted to purchase new softball-specific equipment, so the girls felt equal to the boys and didn’t get old baseball hand-me-downs. We also designed new uniforms that were unique to softball. After seeking feedback from the girls, the jerseys we designed had “North Tahoe” on the front and then each team picked their own team name at the start of the season.” said Cat Clem, North Tahoe LL Head of Softball. “Getting the grant gave us hope that we can keep going and growing as a program within the league. While I still have two young girls in the program and plan to be involved for a while, I want to make sure that when I leave, the program is still here for future generations of young girls. The momentum we have is really exciting and the families that we have involved are great at contributing to that fun and getting more kids playing.”
After community outreach, working with other youth sports organizations, hosting a summer softball camp, and offering after-school softball clubs through a local elementary school, North Tahoe LL’s Softball registration numbers heading into the 2025 season have grown more than 65% in just its second year. The league is excited to give more girls the opportunity to have fun learning the game of softball with nine chartered teams in 2025 and hopes to continue to build on that growth year after year.
South Kingstown (R.I.) American Little League
After watching its softball registration numbers decline, South Kingstown Little League used the grant to reimagine the branding of its program to increase visibility and create a stronger sense of community. Thanks to the funding, the league was able to purchase new uniforms, launch a new logo for merchandise, and get additional yard signs, banners, and other promotional materials to raise awareness in the community.
“We are one Little League – softball and baseball – but something we have been trying to do is making softball stand out a little bit more as we try and recruit more players,” said Michael Previty, South Kingstown American LL League President. “To help us with those efforts, we had a new softball logo designed and approved to use for merchandise so the girls and families could wear it and show off the softball program.”
Between the 2023 and 2024 seasons, South Kingstown LL doubled the number of registered softball players, with two of the teams going on to win the Rhode Island District 3 Championship.
“We have been trying, even before receiving the grant, to increase awareness of our softball program, showcase the value of the program in the community, and emphasize how it is different from other youth organizations in the area,” said Steve Mooney, South Kingstown American LL Softball Coordinator. “Before the recent push, when you would ask most of the people in our community about Little League, they would only know about baseball. It was our goal to make it known that softball is there, too. The grant has made a huge impact because it helped fund those efforts. We were able to promote the new logo, purchase the yard signs and uniforms, and take that next step towards reaching our goal. The grant’s mission resonated with our league’s vision, which is to take Little League Softball and showcase it in a new light so people understand just how special it is.”
Kent (Wash.) Little League
In a community where softball and baseball are not offered to youth athletes at the local Kent middle schools, Kent Little League continuously seeks new and innovative ways to expand the program and create more opportunities. On the softball side, the league utilized the grant to improve the safety of their existing field while also constructing a second field to accommodate the growing demand.
“We wanted to use these funds to enhance the softball program and serve the community. So, when we looked at our top goals, we knew we wanted to increase exposure to the softball program and provide more opportunities for female athletes in softball and baseball,” said Amanda Lawson, Kent LL Softball Vice President. “Before receiving the grant, we decided to open softball to girls outside of the Majors Division during the Fall Ball season, expanding to include the Minors and Tee Ball levels. With a growing number of softball players registering for Fall Ball, we recognized the need to enhance the safety of our softball fields and increase our field capacity with an additional high-quality practice field. To encourage registration, we launched marketing efforts, including distributing flyers and posting community banners to promote open registration. Our funding was primarily allocated to improving the facilities and supporting these outreach initiatives.”
Between 2024 and 2025, Kent LL saw an increase of 29 softball registrations – including 10 girls who registered to participate in the league’s all-girls Tee Ball program – making it a total of 99 female athletes registered. Kent LL has also spent time creating a strong communications and promotion plan, including website updates, strategically placed flyers and banners throughout the community, and a league-wide newsletter.
“It was awesome to receive the grant. A big change we have been driving the past couple of years is making softball a part of the conversation rather than an afterthought so that there is an alignment in the goals and efforts in both softball and baseball,” said Tim Smith, Kent LL League President. “After we used the Girls with Game 50 grant to make the enhancements and changes to the fields, we were able to boast about strengthening the safety and integrity of our program so when people see and hear about Kent Little League, then it is a positive conversation which leads to growth.”
Gateway Little League (Mt. Sterling, Ky.)
Looking to create a more competitive and inclusive environment for its female athletes, Gateway LL used the grant to enhance their fields and increase player safety by purchasing batting cage safety nets, training balls, batting tees, and new catcher’s gear. To give the girls a year-round experience, the league also used the grant to host summer and fall training clinics that focused on developing each player’s skills and on-field confidence.
“Being able to get the equipment alone was instrumental because it allowed us to host those summer and fall clinics and make our softball program a year-round experience,” said Dennis Smith, Gateway LL League President. “In the future, we would like to continue to get more girls involved, especially after they are beyond the Majors Division. What is so great about Girls with Game in general is that we bring attention to the sport. Baseball has always been there, but as we look to continue to grow softball across the board, we are going to be able to provide an outlet for young females, and the grant and initiative in general are two steps in the right direction to make that happen.”
With its remaining funds set aside for future growth, Gateway LL is now working towards forming its first-ever Junior Division softball team, ensuring long-term opportunities for its female athletes.
Along with the league grants given to the leagues above, Little League also awarded thousands of dollars in support to the 50 leagues listed below:
| Amherst (Mass.) LL | Lincoln County (W.V.) LL |
| Bangor (Maine) West Side LL | Martin County North Little League (Palm City, Fla.) |
| Baxter Springs (Kan.) LL | Mathews County (Va.) LL |
| Beaumont Softball LL (Portland, Ore.) | Morgan County LL (Berkeley Springs, W.V.) |
| Bend (Ore.) North LL | North Houston (Texas) American LL |
| Bradford (Pa.) Regional LL | Orono-Veazie (Maine) LL |
| Brownsburg (Ind.) Girls Softball LL | Osolo LL (Elkhart, Ind.) |
| Continental Ranch LL (Marana, Ariz.) | Pelham Bay LL (Bronx, N.Y.) |
| Copper City Softball LL (Butte Silver Bow, Mont.) | Plymouth-Canton (Mich.) LL |
| Deer Creek LL (Edmond, Okla.) | Sabine Jarvis LL (Fort Worth, Texas) |
| East Chatham LL (Pittsboro, N.C.) | Somers Point (N.J.) Softball LL |
| East Greenwich (R.I.) LL | South Baltimore (Md.) LL |
| Fairport (N.Y.) Perinton LL | South County LL (Lorton, Va.) |
| Fargo (N.D.) LL | South Durham (N.C.) LL |
| Fishkill (N.Y.) LL | South Knox LL (Monroe City, Ind.) |
| Gateway LL (Mt. Sterling, Ky.) | Suncook LL (Pembroke, N.H.) |
| Goodyear (Ariz.) LL | Taylor (Mich.) North LL |
| Hagerstown (Md.) Federal LL | Tualatin City (Ore.) LL |
| High Plains LL (Peyton, Colo.) | Utica (N.Y.) LL |
| Highlands LL (Jacksonville, Fla.) | West Seattle (Wash.) LL |
| Interbay LL (Tampa, Fla.) | Westbrook (Maine) LL |
| Irmo (S.C.) LL | Westchester Del Rey LL (Los Angeles, Calif.) |
| Kennedy American LL (Madison, Wis.) | Willits (Calif.) Redwood LL |
| Keystone LL (Omaha, Neb.) | Wilsonville (Ore.) LL |
| Lake Placid (Fla.) Youth Baseball LL | Yellow Jackets LL (Tampa, Fla.) |
| Lewisburg (Pa.) LL |
Through its newly launched Philanthropy and Social Impact initiatives, Little League plans to continue grant-making opportunities like the Girls with Game 50 Grants in the future to provide additional needed support to its local leagues, volunteers, and communities.
To learn more about these initiatives, including how you can help support one of the philanthropic funds already established, visit LittleLeague.org/Impact. To learn more about Little League’s Girls with Game® celebration and female initiative, visit LittleLeague.org/GWG.