
Keep Zoe and Mia's Cheer Dreams Alive
Donation protected
Hi, I'm Lauren. And the girls in this photo are Zoe (10) and Mia (5). This is Zoe's 3rd year cheering with her Cheerabilities squad, and Mia's 1st year. Zoe has been diagnosed as autistic since she was 5 years old, and I'm in the process of getting Mia diagnosed as well.
My goal as a parent has been to give my daughters the most well-rounded childhood that I can - investing in their education, traveling with them, exposing them to places I hadn't been at their age, and I'd been doing a great job of that...
Until this year. Their father and I (which, we are still cool) got a divorce this year, and it was finalized in September. With that, and going from 2 incomes in a household to 1 income, has come its own unique set of challenges. Yes, I/we could have made the decision to not have them continue/start cheer in order to save money, and in hindsight, that probably would have made a LOT of sense, but in all honesty, I wanted to keep as much of their life "normal" as possible, and that included keeping them in their activities.
This year, their Cheerabilities team is competing elite, which means that they have the opportunity to earn a bid to go to Worlds in Orlando, FL in April. I have no doubt that they will get there, but Worlds is expensive, and there's a lot of competitions and money to be spent between now and April.
I am starting this GoFundMe, because quite frankly, I need help. I hate asking for help - I always have - but when it comes to these two? I'll humble myself every time and ask. I don't know that I'll be able to keep them in cheer next year (financially, clearly), so I want to make this season their best season yet.
Here is how I got to the $5,500 goal.
Monthly Tuition (January-April): $385
Travel to Pigeon Forge, TN in January: $1,010 (flying to Charlotte and renting a car and driving from Charlotte to Pigeon Forge)
Hotel in Pigeon Forge, TN in January: $635
Travel to Orlando, FL in April: $750-$1500 (either driving to Raleigh and flying from there, or driving all the way to Orlando and back, or driving down and flying back)
Hotel in Orlando, FL in April: $660
Competition Entry Fees (Yes, I have to pay to get in to every competition): $300
The remaining $1,010 of the goal would be used to pay for gas, meals for out of town competitions, snacks for the hotels, concessions inside of competitions (we can't bring food inside, and these girls love their snacks), and the miscellaneous things that love to creep up over the course of a season.
I realize this is a hefty ask, and times are hard for a lot of us out here these days. If you have it to spare, my girls and I would be deeply grateful to you. Thank you for reading and for considering donating.
Organizer
Lauren Persons
Organizer
Pasadena, MD