Best S.T.E.P. Forward takes children with special needs to enjoy Padre’s Little League Day

This non-profit organization provides inclusive activities for the special needs community of Imperial County and the under-served at risk youth. - News 11's Vanessa Gongora reports.

IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) - Best S.T.E.P. Forward took their kids with special needs to a special place on Easter Sunday in honor of Little League Day at Petco Park.

The San Diego Padres invited Little Leagues throughout San Diego and Imperial County to come and walk the field before the game to celebrate the kids and their accomplishments.

This was Best S.T.E.P. Forward's Challenger League first time participating.

Best S.T.E.P. Forward thought it would be a great opportunity for the kids and parents to go to a MLB baseball game and watch the San Diego Padres play the Atlanta Braves.

The founder, Jackie Riddell, says she knew right away this is something she wanted to share with the special needs community.

She said she has been in contact with the Padres for four years waiting for Little League Day to happen again.

"It's important for all kids to have these experiences despite unique needs. Every child deserves a very normal experience and it was awesome providing that opportunity to experience those memories with our kids and their families." said Riddell.

According to the Vice President of Best S.T.E.P. Forward Paulette Ramirez, the kids were so excited.

Riddell said she saw a tremendous amount of confidence from their kids, parading the line and high-fiving people on the sidelines.

One mom I spoke with, Analiia Barajas, said it was her family's first professional baseball game and she'll never forget the look on her son's face.

"He sees things very sincere, very humble. I know that as he matures later on, he'll be like wow I was a part of that," Barajas said.

She said to see him experience things like this, is pretty awesome.

Barajas' son Jesse Reyes who has multiple diagnoses, one being autism, says he now wants to build what he saw on Minecraft.

"I want to build San Diego and also the Padres game, the stadium and Petco Park," Reyes said.

13 year old Killian Riddell who is diagnosed with autism and ADHD also had a blast at the Padre's game.

"More about the game, it was quite big. They closed out half of the spot for us near the bell and we saw bits of the billboard and there was only eight innings mostly and a baseball player was sort of near the area where we were sitting at," Riddell said.

Best S.T.E.P. Forward was happy with the outcome.

Best S.T.E.P. Forward is based out of Calipatria but recently opened a gym in El Centro to better serve all children with disabilities throughout Imperial County.

The next event they will be hosting is their soccer league. For more information, you can visit Best S.T.E.P. Forward's Facebook page.