For years the Woodlawn Little League relied on parents to mow the ball fields and bring coolers full of ice and sodas for the baseball games their children played on McNaughton Fields Park near Pole Road in Mount Vernon. Now they shifted gears with Fairfax County Park Authority support and broke ground Saturday, March 9, for the construction of a restroom and concession stand at McNaughton Fields Park.

Despite Saturday’s rain, nearly 100 people came out with their children, or their children’s children, so it was a multi-generational event, said Karen Olmstead, a parent and active member of Woodlawn Little League. 

“It went really well,” she said, noting that former team board members from years ago came out to the event. “It didn’t start pouring until the end,” she said.

Construction is scheduled to continue through the summer and be completed sometime around September.

According to Fairfax County, it took perseverance from members of the Woodlawn Little League to get these amenities at the park. "A community organization that has adopted the park and spearheaded community support and fundraising to help make this project possible," the county said.

Making it possible came in the form of $200,000 the parents raised by establishing a GO FUND ME page, and reaching out to donors, like the local Knights of Columbus chapter, Jim’s Electric Motors, Big Steve’s Landscaping and a nearby "Five Guys" burger restaurant.

Olmstead is the president of Woodlawn Little League and helped with the fundraising efforts and sees how players on a youth baseball team gain from this experience. "They learn being part of a team and build friendships from there," she said.

They have a mission statement too: "The objective of Woodlawn Little League shall be to implant firmly in the children of the community the ideals of good sportsmanship, honesty, loyalty, courage and respect of authority so that they may be well adjusted, stronger and happier children and will grow up to be good, decent, healthy and trustworthy citizens," it read.