San Fernando Valley : Good Samaritans Go to Bat for Vandalized Little League

The West Valley Little League has received more than 25 offers of cash and assistance to repair its vandalized snack bar and equipment storage facilities.

Following a story in The Times on Tuesday about the damage, San Fernando Valley residents offered gifts ranging from hot dogs to bats to money.

An Encino law firm, Cohen & Steinbrecher, will pay for the bulk of the estimated $2,500 in damage, apparently done by graffiti vandals. Two construction companies will provide labor and material to restore the damaged supply shed. Mark Kaplan, owner of Plast Techs Enterprises in Los Angeles, is ready to deliver seven pallets of coffee, napkins and whatever condiments the league needs to get the hot dog stand back in business.

And a next-door neighbor, herself barely surviving on a monthly Social Security check, dropped by and gave $10.

The donations mean opening day, March 9, will be a lot brighter for coach Joe Bua and the 350 players who use the field near Oxnard and Louise avenues in Encino.

“It just totally surprised me,” said Bua’s wife, Susan, who answered many of the calls. “It has been overwhelming. The word that people have used all day is that they were ‘touched’ by the story.”