Santee Little League Victimized by Theft is Presented With $5,000 Check

The crowd cheered Tuesday evening when a giant check was presented to Santana National Little League (SNLL) by Pardee Homes to get the league back on track after a recent case of theft and destruction left the legue in the lurch.

Members of Santana National Little League showed up to play a baseball game a couple weeks back and instead found major damage to their score booth, the public address and electrical systems along with stolen equipment, balls, catchers gear and other items. The league, which serves the youth of Santee, has been unable to function as normal in light of the recent vandalism.

Pardee Homes, which is working on developing the Castle Rock Housing Project in Santee, presented the Santana National Little League with a $5,000 contribution to replace and repair stolen and vandalized equipment. Santee City Councilmember Rob McNelis MC'd the ceremony and coordinated the contribution from Pardee Homes.

The incident was reported to police on March 23. McNelis said some of the items were recovered at the Santee Swap Meet, but this couldn't be confirmed. 

“We are thrilled that Pardee Homes came forward to aid our league in this situation,” said Steve Crane, President of the Santana National Little League.

“We will not let the vandal’s actions dampen our league’sspirit and we are encouraged by the way the community has rallied around us. This situation has evenbrought our teams together in the spirit of good sportsmanship, honesty, loyalty, courage and respect."

Santana National Little League provides a supervised program of competitive baseball and softballgames serving the youth of the City of Santee. The Little League is a nonprofit educational organization, run by volunteers.

“We are pleased to support the Santana National Little League program and the important service itprovides to the youth of Santee,” said Jimmy Ayala, Director of Community Development for PardeeHomes.

“When Pardee Homes was informed of this terrible incident of vandalism, they immediately wanted to help” said McNelis.

"Today’s event demonstrates the power that collaboration has in protecting and improving our City’s vitalprograms,” said McNelis. “We are very proud to have organizations like the Santana National Little League and companies like Pardee Homes here in Santee that are committed to making apositive impact on the quality of life in our community."

A SNLL press release contributed to this report.