Acta wants to impact children

VIERA, Fla.— Manny Acta has a problem. He has these cases of baseball cleats here at Space Coast Stadium, and all he wants to do is give them away — specifically to high school-age baseball players in the District.

There’s another problem, though. The cleats are metal, and some places don’t allow metal cleats. So to do this good deed, he has to make sure the District athletes are allowed to use metal cleats.

There are many details to consider when you try to make your dreams come true.

When Acta reached his longtime goal of being a major league manager after being hired by the Washington Nationals in the winter of 2006, he found himself in a position to pursue his dream of helping kids through baseball, whether it was in the District or his hometown back in the Dominican Republic, where Acta is working on a plan to build three ball fields.

“I always dreamed of being able to build some Little League fields, where I came from,” Acta said. “I had hoped that when I get to the point where I can do something here, I am able to do it and not shy away from it. Finally I have an opportunity. I have been blessed to be put in a position where I can not only use my name, but I can also economically lend a hand.”

So last year he kicked off a foundation to realize his dream, called the ImpACTA Kids Foundation.

He officially launched it this winter in the Dominican with a program for kids and parents and the announcement of his plan to build the three baseball fields.

“We hired professionals in different subjects to talk to the kids,” Acta said. “We brought in doctors, psychologists, to talk about child abuse and HIV and how to behave, just about all the adversities that kids are facing these days. They spent the morning with that program. Then we had a lunch with the parents and the kids and announced our plans.”

Acta has produced a DVD about his foundation and their kickoff program in November in his hometown of Consuelo, where he hopes to build the baseball complex.

“This is our first step, trying to build a three-field complex for the kids,” Acta said. “Nowadays where I come from, these Little League-age kids are kind of forgotten because many people go after the 15- and 16-year-olds that are close to be signed for business purposes. I am trying to help those other kids in my hometown.

“The government has been kind enough to donate the land for us to build. Hopefully we can move this forward to where I want it to be.”

Where he wants it to be is a safe haven for kids to find direction. Education and sports have been a big part of the community there in the past, but the opportunities for kids in sports have dropped and with it the crime rate has increased. It pains Acta deeply to see kids without direction, and he is determined to make a difference.

Acta said his work, though, will not be confined to his Dominican hometown. He hopes to make a difference in the District and also where he lives during the offseason in St. Cloud, Fla.

He has gotten support from corporations like Under Armour, TPX and Louisville Slugger, all of which made donations for sporting goods that Acta gave away in the Dominican. And Under Armour donated the baseball spikes that Acta hopes find their way to D.C. kids.

To do good work these days, though, requires jumping lots of logistics. Charitable foundation financial abuses have resulted in ever-growing tighter restrictions, and Acta has found it challenging to set up ImpACTA Kids.

“I have never been involved with a foundation before, and I thought it was going to be easier,” he said. “It’s not easy, and now that I am learning the process, I know why the government has different restrictions about it.

“I understand one of the challenges of the foundation will be to convince people that most of the money is not going to go to payroll instead of what you really need to accomplish. I am the president [and] my brother is the CFO with no salaries. We are doing whatever we can. There are people that need to be compensated, but we are working hard. We are just starting now, and we want to get the ball rolling and see where this takes us.”

It already has started rolling in the District, with donations coming in from people who have learned about the foundation and Acta’s work.

“I really appreciate what the people in the D.C. area who know about the foundation have done already and have sent in donations,” Acta said. “Pretty soon our Web site [impactakids.org] will be complete, with a lot more information. Right now it is really a tough process, especially because I am involved in spring training and really don’t have much time to deal with the outside world.”

Nothing will get in the way of Acta being the manager of the Washington Nationals because that may be the greatest contribution he can make.

The more success he has, the higher his profile and the more people he can reach to support his dream. So it is imperative for Manny Acta to be a successful major league manager. There are kids who are counting on it.