The Roberto Clemente Baseball League was started in 1993 with 45 Children on four teams.  The purpose was to provide an outlet for family unity through an organization that could provide educational workshops, family activities and athletic competition for children and their families.  The league is for children ages 5 to 15 years old.  The  2008 summer season has 270 children and 18 teams with a waiting list of over 25 children.  The league is wholly dependent on volunteers, community businesses and organizations for its funding.  The league is an outreach program of The Greater Lawrence Community Action Council .

 The Greater Lawrence Community Action Council Inc. (GLCAC, Inc.) is a private non-profit agency, designated as the official federal and state anti-poverty agency for the Greater Lawrence area.  The GLCAC believes that individuals cannot attain a quality of life until basic needs are met.  Poverty cannot be solved by a "Band-Aid" approach.  The GLCAC, Inc sponsors many programs to assist individuals and families climb out of poverty by providing a comprehensive system of education, training, support and resources.  The Spanish Program which sponsors the Roberto Clemente League, also provides family values programs and counseling, public safety training, substance abuse programs, teenage pregnancy counseling, housing assistance, fuel assistance, head start, WIC and many other services.  Sixty percent of the players on the RCL teams come from single parent families. The Roberto Clemente Baseball program is very important to these children, and represent a constructive opportunity for them to develop and work as part of an organized activity.