Over a year after losing a son and brother in Treyton to an alcohol-related car accident, the Kilar family is getting closer to seeing the “Treyton Kilar Field of Dreams” become a reality.
The family has raised about $315,000 of the roughly $450,000 needed to build the little-league field in Treyton’s memory.
Mary Kilar, Treyton’s mother, said she is thrilled to be getting so close to their goal and to see the community still rallying around them more than a year after the accident.
“It’s so exciting,” Kilar said. “I think what’s been the most comforting to us is to see that the enthusiasm hasn’t died down. Our biggest fear was that maybe the enthusiasm for the field, or the memory of Treyton, would kind of fizzle out in the minds of some people … and it just hasn’t.”
The next fundraiser, “Zumba for Trey,” is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. March 4 at the Whitewater High School. The event coordinators are requesting a $25 donation for adults and $15 for kids. People who participated at the event last year can wear their 2011 t-shirt and receive $5 off admission.
Last year, over 100 people participated in “Zumba for Trey,” raising more than $2,000. Amie Alvarado, a family friend who helps organize many of the fundraisers for Treyton’s field, is also helping with the Zumba event.
“Hopefully we get at least the same turnout,” Alvarado said. “The goal would certainly be to have a few more, but it would be great if we could do that again.”
If anyone is interested in participating they can visit Trey’s website www.treysfield.org for details and to download the registration form, Alvarado said.
Although not all the money has been raised yet, groundbreaking for the field is still planned for this spring. Kilar said the field will most likely be built in phases. This will allow construction to start while still hosting other fundraisers to raise all of the money.
“We will continue and continue to fundraise because obviously we’re not to our goal quite yet,” Kilar said. “We’d really like to see it the way that we really want it.”
On Jan. 25, Culvers hosted a “Hometown Hero” fundraiser for the Kilar family, donating 10 percent of all sales from 5-8 p.m. to “Treyton Kilar’s Field of Dreams.” There was standing room only and the event raised over $500.
Along with all the support from the city of Whitewater, Kilar said the UW-Whitewater community has been a major help as well. Kilar said her family is constantly getting calls from students or student organizations that want to do things to help with the field. In early January, the men’s and women’s basketball teams held raffles at home games, donating all proceeds to Treyton’s field.
“I can’t say enough about the university students,” Kilar said. “University students don’t even know Treyton, they don’t even know our family, but yet they’re jumping on to support this. That’s just a blessing to us.”
Last year, after narrowly missing out on a Pepsi Refresh Project grant of $250,000, the Kilar family was accepted to be in the running for another Pepsi grant worth $50,000. The community showed it’s support, voting the “Treyton Kilar Field of Dreams” project into the top ten and winning the grant.
Kilar said she is amazed at the community’s constant support and how it has embraced “Treyton Kilar’s Field of Dreams” as their own.
“That’s what we really wanted [the field] to represent is the community coming together not only to remember our little boy but also to make a positive difference for our future,” Kilar said.
