WILSON, NC (WNCT) — Construction of the Wilson City Miracle League Field will be complete this summer, just in time for children with disabilities to kick off their first baseball season.

The field, dedicated entirely to mentally or physically disabled children, is an all-accessible addition to the J Burt Gillette Athletic Complex in Wilson. Wilson Parks and Recreation Director David Lee said the Miracle Field program brings more than just an opportunity to play baseball.

“From what we’ve been told, what we’ve witnessed, it’s the greatest program ever,” Lee said. “What we keep hearing is the parents meeting each other, there’s a lot of community to it and it really helps. That’s where a lot of the miracles happen.”

Cannon Hinnant’s mom, Bonny Parker, kicked off the fundraising for the construction of the field with a $100,000 donation. The miracle field will be named after him. Hinnant was five years old when he was killed while playing in his father’s driveway.

“A tragic story but how nice of the family, ” said Lee.

All of the money raised so far has come from community members and businesses.

“We have raised over a million dollars. It’s like at $1.28 million dollars right now. The project is like $1.4 million. The city is covering whatever we don’t raise,” said Lee.

Construction started on the complex a few months ago. Lee is proud of the progress that has been made so far.

“It’s going to be incredible. I drive by here every day and look at it,” said Lee. “It’s hard not to.”

Lee also said that the civic groups that have donated money have surprised him with their generosity.

“It’s been amazing what the community has done. I couldn’t be more proud,” said Lee. “One time I gave a talk to a civic group on Zoom, in the middle of COVID. I think 65 of them were on the call. The next day a guy walked in and handed me a check for $10,000.”

The community has rallied together to gather funds. Lee thought that it would be much more difficult to raise the money.

“I thought it was going to be hard. I didn’t know how much money we were going to raise … I might have made some bets about how much money we could raise, but we’ve exceeded it,” said Lee. “It’s really been neat. Makes you feel good.”