Before Elva's Coffee Stop pitched in, the league had managed to raise $700. Of that amount, $500 came from a San Jose Water Company Employees' Community Fund grant. Insurance covered only $1,000 of the more than $4,000 loss, and the Little League needed a new tractor before the start of the season on March 11. The league also needed a new shed or container to secure the new tractor.

The coffee shop at 2206 Lincoln Ave. began a raffle on Jan. 8 to help the Little League raise the needed funds. Owner Elva Acevedo's husband, Frank, donated as a raffle prize two Southwest Airlines tickets that he received for perfect attendance as an SWA employee. Safeway then donated four $25 gift certificates.

After the Willow Glen Resident printed an article about the stolen tractor, the community responded in a big way.

Willow Glen resident Ken McKenzie went to Elva's Coffee Stop to make a personal donation.

"It kind of irked me," McKenzie says. "How low can you go, ripping stuff off from the Little League?"

After talking to the Acevedos, McKenzie knew he could do more.

McKenzie has served on the Air Systems Foundation board since it was founded 10 years ago. The foundation provides grants for children's charities. Over the years, the foundation has provided money to the Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose, Boys and Girls Clubs of Santa Clara County, Children's Musical Theatre of San Jose and HOPE Rehabilitation Services.

McKenzie encouraged Little League president Michael Cunniff to apply for an Air Systems Foundation grant. McKenzie submitted the Little League grant to the board.

"[The board] took one look at it and said, 'This is exactly what we should be doing,' " McKenzie says.

McKenzie presented Cunniff with a $6,679 check on Feb. 9 at Elva's, an amount that more than solved the league's tractor problem.

After receiving the check, Cunniff was able to order a John Deere lawn tractor and a 20-foot freight container to house it. The league will place the container closer to Foxworthy Avenue, install motion-sensor lights and secure the container's lock.

In addition to the Air Systems Foundation grant, businesses donated $1,500 in prizes, and residents bought enough $5 raffle tickets to raise $2,200.

The raffle money will go toward purchasing a new scoreboard on the league's minor diamond field--an improvement the league had been hoping to make for several years. The league is comprised of several hundred volunteers and 450 children from the Campbell, Cambrian and Willow Glen communities. Typically, the league can only afford one improvement per season. The unexpected windfall has turned into a field of dreams for the league.

"I had no idea it was going to go to this magnitude," Cunniff says. "Elva has been our angel, and that's the best way to describe it. It was her raffle that really got people talking. It gave folks a place to go."

Elva Acevedo is proud saying many of the prizes and raffle tickets came from customers. It all makes sense, says Frank Acevedo, who describes the year-old coffee shop as a neighborhood watering hole.

"We don't have customers; we have friends. Elva knows everybody's name," Frank Acevedo says.

Fireside Realty owner Mark Folden, one of the café's regulars, pitched in four $25 Elva's Coffee Stop gift cards.

"I read the article about the tractor and thought 'That stinks,' " Folden says. "It's a local cause and we like Elva's."

His donation prompted other local businesses to purchase gift cards and donate them to the raffle, including Prudential California Realty; law firm Needham, David, Kirwan & Young; Alta Vista Realty and Salon De La Vie.

Asly Petris, owner of Willow Glen business Asly's Treasure Chest, donated four hand-sewn purses valued at $156. Petris heard about the fundraiser through a friend.

"The right thing to do was help out," Petris says. "I try to give back when I can."

Other Willow Glen merchants joined in as well, adding gift certificates to the growing raffle. Gussied Up Dog Boutique, Willow Glen Frozen Yogurt Co., Details Clothing Co., Jake's of Willow Glen and five hours of housecleaning were all donated. Even Cambrian Park Little League's competitor, the Lincoln Glen Little League, donated $50 to the raffle.

The league was making do with an older tractor since the theft during the Thanksgiving holiday. The league used the tractor to mow its four fields and smooth out the dirt, or "drag the field," in the middle of games. The tractor was used up to three times weekly for the past seven years. The older, smaller tractor took twice as long to mow the fields.

The Little League thinks at least two people made a 6-by-6-foot hole in a concrete fence near the locked shed at George Steindorf Jr. School field. The burglars tampered with the shed's lock and cut the door's cast iron handle. The tractor was wheeled out and most likely loaded into a waiting trailer, Cunniff says.

The new tractor should be arriving any day, Cunniff says.

As for the generous contributors to the raffle, many of the prizes will be awarded on March 10 at Elva's Coffee Stop. The winning ticket numbers will be posted at the café and announced at the Little League's season opener and 50th anniversary celebration on March 11. The winning ticket for the grand prize--the airline tickets--will be selected on March 11.

For more information on the Cambrian Park Little League fundraiser and a list of prizes, visit http://www.willowglenextra. com/elva.