Tracy Ford is fundraising
Help Underrepresented Team Get to Nationals
South Tacoma United (STU) Evolution has been invited to US Club Soccer's National Championship on July 18, 2023, in Denver, Colorado, and needs your help getting there!
STU's 2008 girls’ team qualified for the national tournament after winning the Washington Cup for the third consecutive year, giving them an automatic bid to compete at the national level. The team serves Tacoma’s south and eastside communities, and its players are mostly young women of color born in either 2008 or 2009.
In the United States, soccer and wealth often go hand-in-hand, resulting in a pay-to-play structure that typically serves white athletes from affluent homes. For this reason, youth from underserved communities are usually left out of the equation—but these young women are defying the odds.
South Tacoma United works hard to overcome these inequities by providing local youth with both recreational and competitive-level soccer programs at a fraction of the cost other clubs charge. They do so by relying on highly skilled volunteer coaches who donate their time to keep rates affordable and by asking the community for assistance in the form of fundraisers and sponsorships.
Vicente Lemus has been coaching this team since many of the players were five years old. Their talent is apparent in their record, winning dozens of championships, even against athletes years older, despite receiving little recognition for their achievements due to the club’s small size.
These types of opportunities are rare and very expensive but are also important steps in the pathway toward collegiate recognition. Small clubs often do not have the financial means, resources, or accreditations to participate in events that attract college recruiters, making this opportunity especially meaningful.
South Tacoma United Evolution is now seeking community support through fundraising efforts to make their trip to the 2023 national championship possible. These girls will be out and about in the Tacoma area seeking donations to cover travel expenses. When they return on July 22 from Denver, they hope to bring national recognition back to their hometown here in the Pacific Northwest!
Any contribution, large or small, will be greatly appreciated and will have an invaluable impact on the lives of our players!
*More Info: Any funds raised from this campaign will be used to cover costs associated with South Tacoma United 2008 Girls' registration, travel, and participation in the US Club Soccer National Cup XXII Finals at Dick's Sporting Good Park in Denver, Colorado. Any additional funds will be used for general team needs. As a reminder, STU is a nonprofit organization, so all donations are 100 percent tax-deductible.
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