Hitting home runs year after year!
Soon after Buckhead resident Amy Douglass’s 10-year old daughter, Ella Perry, was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, she met friends for lunch at The Betty in Buckhead. “We were talking about our kids’ sports teams and decided it would be fun to get off the bleachers and form a softball team to raise money for charity,” Douglass says. “Because of Ella Perry’s recent diagnosis and our lunch location, we named it the Betty League and chose the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation [as the beneficiary].”
Douglass, Betsy Meacham, Annie Everett, Catherine Mealor and Cristina Anthopoulos wasted no time. Within a month, they had recruited enough friends for two teams, ordered T-shirts, reserved a field at Chastain Park and staged the first tournament on Mother’s Day weekend with Douglass’ dad serving as umpire. It raised $12,000.
The league will celebrate its fifth anniversary on May 10, the Saturday of Mother’s Day weekend at Blackburn Park with fun activities for kids, a food truck and beverages.
For her fundraising efforts through the years that have totaled $150,000, the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation’s Georgia chapter named Douglass the Elvin C. Price Volunteer of the Year at the Torch Gala in February. She accepted on behalf of the league. “I couldn’t have done it without friends, family and the players who come out year after year,” she says.
BETTY LEAGUE
bettyleague.com
THE CROHN’S & COLITIS FOUNDATION
crohnscolitisfoundation.org
