Baseball is the hook.
Education is the mission.
Empower Baseball keeps Dominican kids in school, requires graduation, and uses baseball as the incentive to build a bigger future. Players receive coaching, structure, mentorship, and opportunity, but only inside an education-first model.
“Baseball can open doors, but education is what keeps them open.”
Brian Straley, FounderNo diploma, no mission.
To be part of Empower Baseball means staying in school and finishing with a diploma. Education is not an extra feature of the program. It is the standard that defines it.
Because baseball alone is not enough.
The organization exists to break a cycle where children are pressured to believe baseball is their only way out, even though the odds are overwhelmingly against that outcome.
Baseball-only dreams fail most kids
When education disappears, the risk becomes much bigger than sports.
Education creates real options
A diploma opens more than one path and protects a child’s future.
Empower flips the model
School comes first, and baseball becomes the motivator instead of the replacement.
Education first.
Baseball second.
Futures always.
Players commit to school, earn support through accountability, and grow inside a program that builds discipline, opportunity, and long-term vision.
Commit in writing
Players and families agree to the education-first standard from the beginning.
Earn support through school
Participation is tied to school, accountability, and consistency.
Build a bigger future
Baseball may open doors, but education protects life after baseball.
Three teams, one education-first identity.
Every age level carries the same expectations, with development serving the larger mission.
High School Team
Teen players train at a high level while carrying the full graduation standard.
Middle School Team
Younger players build strong habits early before dropout pressure increases.
T-Ball Team
Early belonging and structure help shape a healthier starting point.
Support that serves the bigger goal.
Coaching, uniforms, equipment, mentorship, structure, and opportunity all exist to reinforce the education mission.
Academic accountability
School performance remains part of the program model.
Mentorship and structure
Kids are supported in daily life, not just during games and practices.
Elite baseball training
Development is real, but it is earned inside the standard.
Uniforms and equipment
Practical needs are covered to remove barriers to participation.
Clean water at the field
Basic care and consistency are part of what makes the environment different.
Long-term opportunity
The goal is a future with more than one possible outcome.
Kids first. Players second.
Empower’s story is strongest when players are presented as student-athletes whose future matters beyond the game.
Julio Zenon
Before Empower Baseball, I was thinking about dropping out. Now I'm on the team and my grades are the best they've ever been. Baseball made me take school seriously.
Hector Medina
I’m grateful I can play baseball here, but what makes Empower different is that they expect us to go to school and do well.
Angel Mendez
This program gives me the chance to train, stay focused in school, and believe I can build a better life.
People who hold the line.
Local leadership in Barahona reinforces the standard every day, supports families, and helps the education-first mission stay real on the ground.
Help a child stay in school, graduate, and build a future.
Every gift helps keep the education-first standard strong while giving kids structure, coaching, practical support, and a real reason to keep showing up.