Angel in the Outfield

How Robin and Joseph Verdino’s Field of Dreams Foundation keeps the memory of their son alive

By Jessica Jones-Gorman • Photos by Amessé Photography

After the devastating and sudden death of her 10-year-old son Joseph in 2007, Robin Verdino needed to find a way to make his memory live on.

“My son was such a giving and generous kind of kid—a very old soul, very wise and kind for his age, an all-around excellent child, so special in my eyes and in the hearts of everyone he came in contact with,” Verdino said, describing the vivacious fifth grader who excelled in everything he did, especially baseball.

“He lived and breathed baseball,” Verdino continued. “He played shortstop and third base since he was just threeyears-old and completely idolized the Yankees and Derek Jeter. After he died, it became very clear that the best way for us to remember him was to keep that love alive.”

So Verdino started small. She hosted some fundraisers, helped finance some much-needed repairs at baseball fields across the borough, and collected money to pay the Little League fees for Staten
Island ballplayers whose families couldn’t afford it—all in Joseph’s name.

Shortly after her son’s death, Verdino formed the non-profit Joseph Anthony Verdino Jr. Field of Dreams Foundation and started working with community members and volunteers on youth sports projects throughout the borough. Seven years later, the organization has donated more than $350,000 to baseball fields across Staten Island and secured more than $2 million in funding for the citysponsored construction of a big-league style stadium on the grounds of South Shore Little League, where a bronze statue of Verdino now stands.

“When Joseph was eight-years-old, he was hospitalized for three months with viral encephalitis and was placed in a medically induced coma for six weeks,” Verdino said. “His first words when he woke up were ‘South Shore Little League.’”

That’s what inspired Verdino and her husband, Joseph, to build a Field of Dreams in Joseph’s memory. The plans, which are currently in the construction bidding process, include expansive lighting and sound systems, a spacious grandstand, underground dugouts, and stadium seating. The foundation’s organizers say it will be one of the best stadiums in the country, comparable to the one in Williamsport, PA that hosts the Little League World Series each year.

“It’s a mini stadium…absolutely beautiful,” Verdino said. “The children who play there will feel like they’re playing in the big leagues.”

John Calabrese, a Staten Island businessman who sits on the foundation’s board of directors, credits leaders like Borough President James Oddo, Councilman Vincent Ignizio, and former Borough President James Molinaro—as well as the support of the Staten Island community—for the project’s success.

“The political leaders and residents of the borough have been so tremendously supportive,” said Calabrese. “Our fundraisers are always wonderful, very bittersweet events, in part because of the three to four hundred guests who turn out to support our cause.”

According to Calabrese, the field will be the site for some major city and even regional tournaments as well as for the borough’s all-star games.

“This field will honor a child who truly loved little league baseball and was passionate about his sport,” Calabrese said. “Every kid should feel like a major league baseball player at some point in their life, and that’s the type of experience this field will offer.”

For Verdino, a leader on the Staten Island business scene herself (she is owner of Kiddie Academy, an educational day care center in Bloomfield), the project is not only inspired by the memory of her son, it also stems from her love of all children.

“I opened Kiddie Academy because I was working in Manhattan and wanted to be closer to home and to my kids. I’ve always loved working with children; it is my passion, and even though my own were beyond preschool when I started this business, it was exactly where I wanted to be.”

Verdino signed with the franchise in 1995, but took seven years to find the perfect location. The corporate park South Avenue site is now one of 100 such centers nationwide that focuses on creating an advanced learning environment, from infancy to preschool.

“I wanted to create a wonderful learning environment with some beautiful surroundings for the children of Staten Island,” Verdino said. “We have a large outdoor playground and are surrounded by greenery—it’s a very happy, friendly place that all of our kids call home.”

A home-away-from home is exactly what Verdino hopes to provide for sports programs all over the city.

“Up until this point, we’ve donated money to West Shore, Staten Island, Mid Island, and Great Kills Little Leagues, which bought equipment, repaired fences, or patched artificial turf,” she explained. “We also gave scholarships to kids who couldn’t afford to play at their local Little League. That’s what this foundation is all about – giving kids the opportunity to play a sport they love with the best equipment, and on some beautiful fields.”

The charity’s future goal is to branch out even further—helping children with other sports, hosting after school programs, and even sponsoring games for young people with special needs.

“We never want Joseph to be forgotten,” Verdino concluded. “He was such a giving person, so it just made sense to give to others in his memory. And if we can give kids a chance to do something they really love in the process, then we’ve reached our goal.” •

Construction of Joseph Verdino’s Field of Dreams is slated to begin next August, right after the baseball season’s completion.