SOUTH WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. — The saying "it takes a village" truly applies to the Little League World Series. In addition to hundreds of paid employees, there are around 750 volunteers who help during the series.
Each of the 20 teams has two uncles. The uncles are their hosts throughout the tournament, assisting them with whatever is needed.
"It's such a wonderful experience we get to take home, and we get to share this with the kids in our league, and we get to share this with our communities," said Chuck Deluca, who has been an uncle since 2015.
When the opportunity presented itself to volunteer as a team host, he jumped at the chance. Deluca lives in Clemens, North Carolina, and coached a Little League team that made it to South Williamsport in 2002.
"We were one of the teams that went 0-3. It was very disappointing from a baseball standpoint, but however, the people who made the experience were the people from Little League," Deluca said.
"I worked in the NFL. I worked in professional baseball, but coming back here every year is the coolest event," Matt Duncan said.
Duncan is from Williamsport but now lives in Youngstown, Ohio. This is his tenth year volunteering on the grounds crew.
"Everybody wants to give back. Most of the people who volunteer here volunteer in the Little Leagues in their own town as well in some capacity. But like I said, this is just the greatest event," Duncan added.
"We come and run registers, serve the hot food. We're here about seven days of the series," said volunteer Kim Bennett from Northumberland Christian School.
The main concession stand is run by various nonprofit groups. They get to take home a percentage of what they sell. Volunteers from Northumberland Christian School say it's a win-win.
"We're volunteering, so we're helping the Little League players and their families. We're making money for our organization and just getting to meet a bunch of new people in the process," Bennett said.
Many volunteers have been doing this for decades and plan to return next year.
Check out the full schedule of games HERE.
Find more great Little League Baseball information at the official Little League World Series site or on the Little League World Series Facebook and Twitter feeds.
Drivers traveling to the LLWS in Williamsport are encouraged to plan their trip using the real-time travel and alternate-route information available online at www.511PA.com/LLWS.
Watch the Little League World Series coverage on WNEP's YouTube channel.