Worthwhile soccer cause

Although it is not a local (Portland area) organization, it is something that Lindsey Huie is deeply involved in and, because she is one of the sweetest young ladies to come out of Pilot soccer, I am asking ALL of you to consider this with a clear mind and an open heart. The following is from Lindsey:

Hi there! It has been 10 years since the University of Portland's FIRST ever National Championship! The year was filled with much joy, many challenges, battle wounds, personal growth and some heartbreak as our Beloved Clive Charles struggled with cancer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPXCoUKSKaQ&feature=youtu.be).

Clive had a vision for what soccer could be like at the University of Portland. A beautiful field, under the lights, the stadium filled with thousands of soccer hungry fans in the middle of one of the biggest soccer crazy cities that exists.

With your help Clive was able to build soccer traditions that will never be forgotten. Clive put a tiny school like UP on the map for mens and womens soccer. Soccer teams all over the country look forward to playing at UP because of you.

Clive's legacy now lives on through many of his former players. Garret, Bill and Lisa have FC Portland and UP, Shannon McMillan is at DelMar Shark's in San Diego, Michelle French is with the Youth National Team, Kelly Gray runs an academy in Northern California, and several players play professionally or are on our Senior National Teams. Each coach and player carries on Clive's legacy.

After finishing my Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy I decided that I have much more of an impact in kids lives as a coach rather than a therapist. I realize now how far superior Clive's knowledge of the game really was and my motivation and dedication in this field is to keep that legacy alive. Thus far I have taken all that Clive taught me and implemented it on my youth teams, to date my High School team (Esperanza 2011) won first in League, my Girls Under 11's last year finished second in league, allowed the fewest goals in our entire age bracket, advanced to the second round of State Cup with no goals scored against, and was promoted to the top Tier this year. In just a few months my team has had much success and the interest in my teams has spread so profoundly that I now have enough players to formulate a second team within the same age group.

Here's a little information about the club I currently coach:



About PSA Soccer Club, Inc.

MISSION STATEMENT
Canyon PSA Soccer Club will strive to develop technically sound players with a thorough understanding of the game and the ability to perform at a high level during pressure situations.

PHILOSOPHY
It's not only about winning. It's about teaching, growing, and developing the skills necessary to compete at the college level and beyond. Canyon PSA wants to develop technically sound players with a vision of how the game should be played. We strive to win without sacrificing learning. We want players to build a base that will empower them during critical early stages of development. Desire, attitude, intensity, character, and accountability are but a few of the traits we look for and will develop in our players. In the end, we do not wish to be judged by how many championships were won or lost. We want to be judged by how our players matured and developed into not only college caliber soccer players, but also great people. Ultimately, we want our success to be measured by the number of Canyon PSA players that participate in soccer at the collegiate level and by the success our players achieve in all aspects of their lives.

The cost for our club is very comparable to the clubs in our area and much less than the "elite" clubs:

Developmental Teams (8-9's) $550 per player per season

Junior Teams (10's) $1300 per player per season

Youth Teams (11-12's) $1750 per player per season
Older Teams (13-19's) $1850 per player per season


These fees include:

Embroidered Backpack and Ball

Sweats

Uniforms

Practice gear

2 tournaments and State Cup/National Cup

Referee fees

Coaches Dues


In this economy many players face financial hardships. Unfortunately, the club cannot fully fund all of our players. There are many benefits to sponsoring teams, players, or even making a small donation:

Players/Teams get more exposure to a collegiate experience where they begin to learn preparation and execution while traveling out of state

Players who could not otherwise afford dues are able to participate

Players/Teams are able to afford additional equipment (EZ ups, benches, plyometric equipment, wall dummies, LIGHTING, etc)

Players/Teams can afford to participate in camps with International/National Team Superstars: Shannon Box, Megan Rapinoe, Christine Sinclair

Additional supplies can be bought for the Agencies/Foundations/Charities that we work with benefit

Field Renovations/Maintenance


We are involved with the following agencies:

Ronald McDonald House Cook-A-Meals (http://www.ronaldhouseoc.org/volunteer_cook_a_meal.php)

NEGU-Jessie was a beautiful, athletic, smart and compassionate 12 year old girl who fought two brain tumors (DIPG) for ten months and two days. On January 5, 2012 Jessie earned her angel wings and is fully alive and cancer free in heaven now. She loved God with all of her heart and trusted Him with her illness. (http://www.negu.org/)

These are projects I started:

UCI College Mentorship Program- Our players are paired with local University of California Irvine women soccer players to gain a collegiate experience. Our players make small care packages for their "big sister" and in return the collegiate players do tours of the campus, their dorms, their locker room and do Q& A's. The kids forge friendships while also gaining an understanding for the intensity of a collegiate soccer environment, time management, and goal setting.

Panther Pleasers- We make small bags stuffed with toiletries and snacks for the homeless, a laminated card is included that contains mental health services and local shelter information. We sell these bags to the public and people keep them in their cars and donate them to the homeless when they encounter them. The profit goes towards purchasing the items that are in the bag and any excess goes back to the club for the above mentioned benefits.

Fashion Committee/Clothing Line- The kids and I design casual wear that the kids can be excited about off the field. The players get to be the creators of their own gear while also learning basic marketing and business skills.

I have attached our training curriculum for our younger teams so you can see how detailed the targeted goals are (each team's curriculum is tailored to the age). The sessions focus on player development, the same way Clive was able to build success at UP.
Don't miss this opportunity to get involved with Canyon PSA in a big way!!!!!


How to get involved:

Sponsor a Player ___Zariah Nogales ___Vanessa Morales ___ Brianna Guerra __Katherine Acosta

___Mathilda Gonzalez ___Natalia Verde ___Janelle Pineda ___Ciera Wilhelm

__Kiki Lopez


Sponsor a Team ____GU12 Blue (Tier 1 SCDSL) ____GU12 Red (Tier 3 SCDSL)

____GU9 Blue (Tier 3 SCDSL)

Sponsor Equipment ____ Lateral Speed Slide ____3 Aerobic Step Ups ____Additional Step Risers

_____Light Towers ___Team Bench ___Team Flag ___Team Canopy


Sponsor a Project ___Panther Pleasers ___PSA College Mentorship ___Clothing Line

Sponsor a Camp ___Panther Summer Camp __Panther Winter Camp ___Shannon Box Spring Camp


Please email me for more information on players, teams, equipment, projects and/or camps. All contributions are tax deductible!

Thank you for your involvement!

https://i.servimg.com/u/f31/16/91/71/79/panthe10.jpg

I hope I have piqued some interest here. Please consider this and contact Lindsey to get a mailing address for your donation.

Huie17@gmail.com

Thanks.

Just out of curiosity, since NO ONE from PN got in touch with Lindsey, could someone enlighten me as to why?
Was it because it is in SoCal?
Was it because there are Portland clubs that need support too?
Was it because donations have been done in the past and members got burned?
Was it because it violates a PN user policy?

Just wondering.

purple passion wrote:Just out of curiosity, since NO ONE from PN got in touch with Lindsey, could someone enlighten me as to why?
Was it because it is in SoCal?
Was it because there are Portland clubs that need support too?
Was it because donations have been done in the past and members got burned?
Was it because it violates a PN user policy?

Just wondering.

Speaking from my experience as a one time director of development for a 501(c)3 foundation, I offer a few possible answers to your question.

First let me say that I know Lindsey is a wonderful woman, and I imagine PSA Soccer Club, Inc is a highly worthwhile organization. But let me also say your post, and Lindsey’s letter in combination were too long for me to even consider reading (much like this reply). Because of their length, I did not read either...it was not until your most recent post that I decided to go back and see what it was all about. As for your question, “Was it because it violates a PN user policy,” I can’t answer that, but I personally don’t have a problem with it....your post just made others aware of a compelling need.

As many are aware, Americans are one of the most charitable groups in the world, annually donating over $300 billion each year, even during the current recession. For the most part, however, Americans, including PilotNation members, are reluctant to begin giving to an unknown and faraway cause at the expense of their current charity.

When we pay our taxes, we’re subsidizing the operations of every single non-profit organization in the United States because they don’t have to pay taxes. When organizations receive subsidies or “investments” from the government in the form of grant, that money is actually coming from you and me, the tax payer.

Many of us are leery of donating to an unknown organization without doing our due diligence on that organization. If we are already comfortable with the organization we are giving to, why should we change? After all, most of us only have a limited amount of money we are willing or able to donate.

It’s very easy to donate money to an organization...it’s much harder to donate one’s time by volunteering. But many of us volunteer instead of donating.....because when we volunteer, we have a much greater impact as it’s probably at somewhere local, and those local organizations don’t get nearly as many monetary donations as the national organizations because they don’t spend as much on publicity!....San Diego may be just too far to employ this means of helping by the majority of PilotNation members.

Again, I’m sure Lindsey’s cause is a good one, but I’m also quite sure the majority of PilotNation members are feeling the pinch of the current economy and are hard-pressed to support their current organizations or charities.

I hope this gives you a little insight from my experience and you won't take the lack of positive response to Lindsey's request for money personally.