An Evening for Hope to Fuel Nuxy’s Dream for The Hope Center

FAIRFIELD, OH (September 16, 2025)—The Nuxhall Foundation invites you to go all-in on The Ole Lefthander’s dream.

On October 3, 2025, The Nuxhall Foundation will host An Evening for Hope at 7pm. This free event to be held at the Joe Nuxhall Miracle League Fields will give supporters an opportunity to see and support the vision for The Hope Center—a 31,000 square foot recreational facility to be built just for athletes with physical and developmental disabilities.

Register for Event

“We feel more momentum now than we ever have regarding this project,” says Kim Nuxhall, President and Board Chairman of The Nuxhall Foundation. “As a community, we have the opportunity to do something great together. We have a unique, once-in-a-lifetime chance to design and support a facility that allows individuals with disabilities to shine. An Evening for Hope will help us keep this momentum going.”

The primary focus of the event will be to gather three-year pledges of financial support from guests in attendance. The event is being spearheaded by Nuxhall Foundation board members Chad Caddell and Ron Riedy.

“We see this night as an opportunity to cast the vision for this project, give, and pledge our support as a community to make this dream happen,” say Caddell and Riedy. “All of the good that will take place inside the Hope Center will take all of us to make it happen. An Evening for Hope will allow us to experience that sense of a community coming together to sacrifice, give, and believe.”

Local 12’s Sheila Gray and Bob Herzog will serve as emcees for the event, which will also feature a special live performance from Eliot Sloan of Blessid Union of Souls. The highlight of the event will be Nuxhall Miracle League athletes and their families sharing their experiences and their need for a year-round recreational facility. Supporters will then “round third and head for HOPE” as they give their three-year pledge commitments and in-kind contributions towards the project.

The Hope Center is the next phase of the Joe Nuxhall Miracle League Field’s quest to become the world’s most inclusive recreational campus for athletes with physical and developmental disabilities. This facility features include:

• An arena for new sports and events that will provide a permanent home for the Butler County Special Olympics,

• A multipurpose recreation room with accessible fitness equipment and play opportunities, including a wheelchair zipline and wheelchair ball pit,

• A community room with seating for more than 150 guests to host health and wellness programming,

• A fully-equipped concession stand with workforce development opportunities for the special needs community,

• The Nuxhall Archives: a permanent display of Joe Nuxhall’s life and career as Cincinnati’s most beloved sports icon, and

• Permanent headquarters for The Nuxhall Foundation.

Hope Center Virtual Tour

The focus of the event, say Caddell and Riedy, is to bring together givers and donors at all levels to realize Joe Nuxhall’s vision.

“With a project of this magnitude, all gifts matter and are desperately needed,” the event chairs say. “We aren’t focusing on equal gifts; we are focusing on equal sacrifice. Simply put, we want everyone in attendance to being their best gift, and we are confident that all of our givers working together can help us make a big stride towards opening the doors on this facility.”

Online Pledge Form

To date, The Nuxhall Foundation has made incredible progress towards their $12 million campaign goal, raising just shy of $3.5 million towards the project. The Heading for Hope Campaign will help to fund construction of the facility (estimated at $10 million) and a maintenance and operational endowment (estimated at $2 million) to provide for the facility’s long-term sustainability.

“We have a belief that if we take big swings for the special needs community, we can increase the health, well-being, social experience, and emotional connection for every single person in our community with a physical or developmental disability,” says Nuxhall Foundation Executive Director Tyler Bradshaw. “The Hope Center will be a physical, tangible symbol of that belief. Our athletes don’t just want this—they need it, and they’ve earned it. This night promises to be the biggest in the history of our campaign and our organization.”

WATCH: Hope Center Virtual Tour with Marty Brennaman

An Evening for Hope is open to the public, but pre-registration is required. Guests who wish to attend An Evening for Hope can register for free tickets online at www.nuxhallmiracleleague.org/eveningforhope. Those who cannot attend but still wish to make pledges towards the Heading for Hope campaign can contribute online at www.nuxhallmiracleleague.org/pledgehope. To request a physical pledge card, please email info@nuxhallmiracleleague.org and return by mail to: The Nuxhall Foundation, PO Box 18146, Fairfield, OH 45018.

About The Nuxhall Foundation

The Nuxhall Foundation is the legacy foundation for former Major League Baseball pitcher and longtime Cincinnati Reds broadcaster, the late Joe Nuxhall. The Nuxhall Foundation carries forward three important legacy projects. A central project of The Nuxhall Foundation is The Joe Nuxhall Miracle League Fields—an entirely accessible baseball and recreational facility where every player with every challenge gets every chance to play. Historically, nearly 300 athletes with physical and developmental disabilities aged 4 to 80 participate in programs at the Miracle League Fields. The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Scholarship (in conjunction with the Fairfield Community Foundation) provides nearly $30,000 per year in scholarship money to student athletes at all 14 Butler County high schools. Very soon, the Joe Nuxhall Memorial Scholarship will cross the million-dollar mark in scholarship money awarded. The Joe Nuxhall Character Education Fund pitches good character to young leaders throughout Greater Cincinnati by delivering and supporting programs that stress the importance of integrity, humility, respect, and kindness. In 2024, The Nuxhall Foundation launched a $12 million capital campaign to construct The Hope Center, a year-round recreational facility for athletes with special needs that will help to create the world's most comprehensive athletic campus for individuals with disabilities. 

For more information, visit http://www.nuxhallmiracleleague.org.

For all media inquiries or to schedule an appearance, please contact:

Tyler Bradshaw

(513) 839-6164

tyler@nuxhallmiracleleague.org 

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