SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - After a thief stole $4,500 worth of equipment from the Mira Mesa Girls Softball League, the community responded with overwhelming generosity, ensuring the league can continue without raising registration costs.
Last week, the league discovered that their equipment room at Hourglass Community Park had been broken into, with two large canopies and two generators among the items stolen.
"$4,500, which is financially devastating to us," said Bri Page, the league's vice president.
Page worried the theft could force the league to raise registration costs, which are among the lowest in the county.
"Knowing it may not be as accessible as we tried to make it, that's personal to me," Page said in an interview on Friday.
The theft also threatened a league-hosted softball tournament scheduled for the weekend, which suddenly lacked essential equipment.
After our story aired, tournament attendees stepped up to help. According to Melissa Berry, the league's fundraising coordinator, many families made cash donations after seeing the news coverage.
"We had families come up to us at the snack bar wanting to make cash donations because of the story that they saw," Berry said.
The online response was even more remarkable. A GoFundMe campaign set up after the theft climbed from about $2,000 to more than $5,000 in just two days, meeting the league's overall goal.
"It's just been heartwarming," Berry said.
Charlotte, Berry's daughter who plays in the league, expressed her relief about the community support.
"It makes me feel good… softball can keep playing," Charlotte said.
Berry says the league now has enough funds to replace all the stolen items and won't have to raise registration costs.
"It's been nice to see that one bad act brings us so many more good acts," Berry said. “The outpouring has been incredible.”
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
