Softball tournament proceeds from this weekend will benefit the victims of the Chunky Halloween accident, providing each child with Christmas presents.

A two-day softball tournament Friday and Saturday will raise money for the children injured in the trailer accident on Halloween night. The accident killed Kristina Shaver and her two daughters: Brooklyn, 2, and Baylee, 8, injuring seven other family members.

Shaver’s daughter, McKenzie, 7; Shaver’s sister, Melissa Cook; and five other children, aged 3 to 17, survived the accident. 

“We (at Sports Ministries) wanted to help in any way we could,” said Danny Todd, founder of the charitable organization. “I felt the need to do my part.”

Sports Ministries and Dusty’s Lawn Care, both organizing the event, will use proceeds from the tournament to purchase $300 worth of Christmas gifts for the surviving children, any additional money will be given to the family to cover other bills or costs. 

“This is what we do,” Todd said. “We use our passion for Christ and for sports and help people in their time of need.”

The two-day event starts Friday with four softball games from 7 p.m. until 11 p.m. Saturday’s games will begin at 8 a.m. and continue throughout the day, ending around 11 p.m.

The double-elimination, co-ed tournament features 10 teams, with seven on stand-by. Because the Chunky baseball field has only one playing field, the teams had to be capped at 10, Todd said. 

“We could have had it in Meridian and then we could have had more teams,” Todd, a Chunky resident, said. “But we figured we should let Chunky have it because it was a Chunky family and it happened in their backyards.”

Money will be raised through fish plates, registration fees, raffle prizes and a silent auction.

Raffle prizes and silent auction items include a signed Hugh Freeze #ChunkyStrong football, a Randy Houser autographed guitar and a Lay-Z-Boy recliner. 

Other activities include a kid’s fun zone, rock wall, bounce house, slide and more.

Todd said that with 150 people on teams alone, they hoped to have between 300 and 400 for the fundraiser.

“We just want to express to the community it’s not just about softball but about coming together as a community,” Todd said. 

For more updates about the event Todd invites the community to visit the ministry’s Facebook page at Sportsministries777.

This is not the first fundraiser for the accident victims. An unrelated event last week raised more than $1,600 for the family.