CRANBERRY TWP — The Cranberry Township Community Chest on Saturday received $100,000 from Pirates Charities for the chest's Project of the Year.

That project is to resurface the Miracle League ballfield at Graham Park. The field is part of the Miracle League of Southwestern Pennsylvania, which provides developmentally disabled children the chance to play baseball.

A secondary project is to build a playground by the ballfield.

Mike Sherry, president of the Miracle League of Southwestern Pennsylvania, said the league is fortunate for the donation.

“We are extremely pleased with the contribution and continuing support of Pirates Charities,” Sherry said.

“We are very excited about having it,” said Bruce Mazzoni, a CTCC board member and the chairman of the township supervisors, of the donation “We are heading in a positive direction. It is going very well.”

Mazzoni said the goal is to raise $600,000, and with the commitment from Pirate Charities, the community trust will have raised about $300,000 so far. The campaign to raise money will go until March or April, he said.

The donation occurred at the groundbreaking ceremony for the project.

Mazzoni said he loved that the Cranberry Artists Network built the statue in front of the field as a tribute to the next project of the year.

“I loved seeing that in the background and all the meaning of the statue itself,” he said.

Mazzoni said the groundbreaking brought out a lot of people who knew about the Miracle League Field, but never saw a game in action. People who came to the ceremony were able to see the players and their buddies play a game.

Other leading donors presenting checks at the ceremony included the Alcoa Foundation, which contributed, $15,000, students from Seneca Valley Senior High School, who contributed $20,000, and Fun Fore All owner Chris Camp, who donated $4,900.

There also were tours of the new township fire training trailer, which was part of the 2015 Project of the Year, and a Miracle League game followed the ceremony.

Pirates Charities and some of the players have been supporters of the program in Cranberry since it started in 2009.

To help pay for the construction of the field, Pirates Charities donated $150,000 and former Pirates infielder Freddy Sanchez donated $50,000.

The Pirates also have held a couple fantasy baseball camps at Graham Park where special needs children got a chance to meet and play baseball with members of the team.

“Pirates Charities has always supported our efforts,” said Sherry, who founded Miracle League of Southwestern Pennsylvania and led the effort to build the region's first-of-its kind ballfield.