Brother Martin students make miracles come true

By Christine Bordelon
Clarion Herald

Eleven years ago, current Brother Martin athletic director Mark Wisniewski teamed up with Miracle League of New Orleans director Gina Lorio to see how Brother Martin could offer something memorable  for children with special needs who participate in the league.


The Miracle League helps make playing team sports a reality for boys and girls of all abilities.

“We wanted to give them a special day,” Wisniewski said of the Miracle League participants. “We take for granted everything we do on a daily basis, and we wanted our students to understand what they take for granted and for them to develop a pattern of working with others not as privileged as they are.”

It turned into an annual day of baseball games with prizes.


The 2022 event – the first in two years due to COVID-19 – was held on May 21 on Brother Martin’s baseball field, which was painted with the Miracle League’s logo, Wisniewski said.

Buddied up
Brother Martin’s able-bodied baseball and football players were paired for the day with a Miracle League buddy – ranging in age from 5 to 30 – and could be seen giving piggyback rides and running with children on the field.


Brother Martin’s NJROTC program performed the national anthem, and band members played music during the day. Approximately 100 Brother Martin students, including several seniors who graduated the night before, came out to help.

 Any Miracle League participant could take part.

“Normally, we have 65-70 kids, but this year the threat of inclement weather kept the number down to about 40,” Wisniewski said. “Several of the kids are in wheelchairs. We wanted to make it like a World Series game for them.”


The day began at 9 a.m. with buddies playing pitch and catch, hitting in a batting cage or just running around with the Miracle League kids.

“We didn’t inhibit anything they wanted to do. We wanted them to come out and have a good time,” Wisniewski said.

Games for the younger participants began at 9:30 a.m., with everybody getting on base safe. A game for older kids started at 11 a.m.


Over the past eight years, an auction has been held to raise donations for the local Miracle League. In 2016, a Brother Martin student, now an alumnus, founded “K for Kids” and has raised approximately $25,000 in donations for the Miracle League Foundation, Wisniewski said.

“We wanted our boys to understand how fortunate we are and what we take for granted every day – like putting our shoes on or tying our shoes to go play baseball,” Wisniewski said. “Our students responded tremendously.” 

“We are so proud and grateful to all the Crusaders who stepped up and played alongside the Miracle Leaguers on their day of fun,” said 2022 graduate Jeffrey Lupo II.

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