Short story: Help homeschoolers get soccer jerseys!

Long story:

HAVEN is a Maine nonprofit that has many different branches to support homeschoolers. One of those branches is sports. Currently, we have about 150 homeschooled kids ages 3-18 who participate in soccer in the Freeport area (which includes kids coming from about a 20-mile radius). Soccer is offered in the spring and fall every year. Haven charges a $12 fee per kid to play for 8 weeks. This covers the cost of renting the field, insurance, pinnies, balls, goals, etc.

In the fall, kids in the 9–12-year-old team and 13–18-year-old team get to compete against other homeschoolers across the state. This includes an all-day tournament that takes place in Bangor. Many of these soccer loving kids look forward to the comradery and competitiveness of fall soccer. Over the years we have either had generic shirts for the kids or they wore pinnies at games. Many times, the other teams came in with full matching uniforms. Last year we made it a commitment that in the fall of 2025 we could help boost morale and confidence by getting jerseys for our teams in Freeport. In the spirit of being unified, we also want to make sure the 3–8-year-olds get jerseys even though they do not compete outside of our regular practices.

The jerseys (in typical sports shirt material) will have our Haven logo on the front and feature each child’s name and number on the back. We are so excited to offer this to every kid and help our teams look and feel more cohesive. We estimate each jersey costing approximately $22, plus tax. With 150 kids we would need about $3,500 (which will also cover any processing fees). We would love to spread the word to any homeschooling-supportive businesses or extended family that may want to help out in the undertaking! Our goal is to raise enough money so that we can keep costs to a minimum for every family. If we do not reach our goal, we will split the remaining cost between all of the families. If we go over our goal, we will put the extra money into the soccer fund account, and it will be used exclusively for these kids!

Thank you so much for considering and spreading the word.

Please contact Brooke Thompson with any questions!