"... So many people come into your life and say they want to do something for you," Sellers added. "For these young men to be as consistent as they were - Adam would e-mail me or even call me from Spain - I knew once he called me and told me he was coming back in January, I was excited because I knew he was serious and committed to making this project work. I had a good feeling that this partnership they were setting up would be very successful."
As well as sponsoring a summer baseball league, the Durham Bulls Youth Athletic League also runs a fall soccer league. Weinstein and Grossman would like to involve other Duke students in the soccer program, where they could serve as coaches - and possibly as mentors. "Sports could be a unifying effort between Duke and the Durham community," Grossman noted. "People rally around sports."
"This was a way Adam and I could make a difference," added Weinstein. "But our goal is not just to get a one-time grant, but to set up a real model so someone else can come in and take it over. It runs such a risk of losing steam. We need to keep it running."
Birling of the Durham Bulls says he already can detect the students' impact:
"The last few years, the league was coasting. They've really rejuvenated it, and they've rejuvenated the board of directors that we have. Their thought process has helped people realize how big this league could be.
"We hope to get more Duke University students involved and it becomes more of a mentoring thing, where you learn not just about baseball, but also about life," Birling added. "This is a chance for College students to make a real difference in downtown Durham."

Read the first part of this article... A year later, the Duke students have spent untold hours transforming their class project - to help the inner-city Durham Bulls Youth Athletic League become self-sufficient.