Hub Pop Warner program catches season-saving donation from Ernie Boch Jr.

The Boston Bengals will play this fall after all, with the Pop Warner football program catching a season-saving donation from car dealer and part-time musician and philanthropist Ernie Boch Jr.

Boch committed $15,000 to rescue the upcoming season after reading an article in Sunday’s Herald about how unsanitary conditions at Roxbury’s Clifford Park had led Domingos DaRosa to start dismantling his program.

“It was not even a question because of the way it was written,” Boch told the Herald, “and the situation – it’s just so difficult. I just talked with Domingos, the coach, and the guy is a saint.”

DaRosa set a fundraising goal of $15,000 on a GoFundMe he organized Friday to replace old equipment. More than $1,000 had been raised hours after Sunday’s article published, increasing the accumulated amount to over $1,900, but Boch said he wanted to take care of all of it.

The $15,000 donation, DaRosa told the Herald, will go toward more than just purchasing new equipment. It will also cover registration, operation and insurance expenses, he said.

“My day just got brighter,” he said. “We will be able to start the season off on a positive foot. Now, it’s just a matter of getting the city to keep the park clean.”

As he oversaw a dozen children participating in drills on Saturday, DaRosa said it looked likely his players, ages 3 to 15, would have to find another opportunity somewhere else when the season officially starts Aug. 1. Games begin the second week of September.

Needles, human feces and other trash litter the 8-acre park, a few blocks from Mass and Cass, where people roam the streets, visibly buying, selling and using drugs. DaRosa said the spillover from Mass and Cass has led to a sharp decline in interest from players and parents to participate in the program over the years.

Around 300 children played in the program when DaRosa got first involved about 25 years ago, with that number dropping to roughly 55 last year. With fewer players, it’s been a challenge to cover the $4,000 to operate the league annually, plus another $8,000 in referee fees, he said.

Boch is familiar with the Clifford Park area though he said he’s never really hung around the neighborhood, but he acknowledged “it needs help.” He plans to cut a check as soon as possible and attend a game in the fall.

“The larger problem should be handled by the governor, the mayor, the City Council,” Boch said. “This is a community situation, and it should be going to the legislature, the people they voted in to take care of the people of the towns and the cities. Private money can only go so far.”

The situation has caught the attention of City Council President Ed Flynn, who stopped by Saturday’s practice to let DaRosa know he’d like to recruit children from the neighborhoods he represents, Chinatown, South End and South Boston.

“The residents of Boston are fortunate to have generous friends like Ernie Boch and the Boch family,” Flynn said on Sunday. The Boch family provided resources so that youth sports can continue in Roxbury, Dorchester and the South End. Boston works best when we work together.”

Boch’s donation, DaRosa said, will allow the program to fund more scholarships for children from low-income families. Registration costs $150 per player, which he said is low compared to other area programs, but children who come from single-income households sometimes struggle to participate due to the expense.

“Now that you have someone like Ernie Boch getting involved, that’s going to spark conversations,” DaRosa said. “His influence can influence the people in power to actually take the steps forward to help clean up the area and bring in some safety measures.”