JACKSON – Playing Wiffle Ball was James Volpe’s favorite pastime and is one of the
ways in which friends and family members keep his memory close.
“He was very competitive and a good teammate,” said John Mucia Jr., a close friend
and president of the James Volpe Foundation, which was established in Volpe’s
memory after the Jackson Memorial High School senior was killed in an automobile
crash on May 13, 2011. He was 17 years old.
“People are still doing things to keep his legacy going,” Mucia said. “He was very
caring, he put others before himself, was very loyal and always wanted everybody
around him to have fun.”
On July 30, family members, friends and supporters of the James Volpe Foundation will head to the Holbrook Little League fields at 366 Bartley Road, Jackson, for the 12th annual James Volpe Foundation Wiffle Ball Tournament established in Volpe’s honor. The rain date is July 31.
Check-in is at 9:15 a.m. and games will begin at 10 a.m. The fee for teams to participate is $25 per player. There will be a maximum of 50 teams and two divisions: adult and youth.
Tickets for spectators are priced on a donation basis, from $5 to $1,000 at the donors’ discretion, according to Mucia, and can be reserved through eventbrite.com
Admission for the Family Day activities which will follow the games at noon is $5 per
person, Mucia said, which includes food and soft drinks. There will be 50/50 drawings at $5 per ticket, or five tickets for $20, gift auctions and a DJ providing entertainment.
According to its website, the James Volpe Foundation was created and founded by
family members and close friends “to honor James’ memory as a student, athlete,
loving family member, devoted friend and role model for so many.”
Volpe was a senior at Jackson Memorial High School and a member of the Jaguars’ baseball team at the time of his passing.
Volpe played baseball in the Holbrook Little League. He played travel baseball for the Jackson Rampage and Hurricanes and he had worked as a camp counselor for the Jackson Recreation Department.
The foundation’s mission is to “support young members of the community so they reach their highest potential in education and sports through scholarships and other financial support that otherwise might not be afforded to them.”
Also, to support bereaved families with resources to assist them through their time
of need. The foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable organization.
