Lewiston Boys Soccer State Championship Rings

Hello!

My name is Jennifer and I am a life long resident of Lewiston, Maine, an educator for Lewiston Public Schools for the past 23 years, and a huge Lewiston High School soccer fan! On November 11th our boys soccer team brought back hope, a reason to celebrate, and great pride to the city of Lewiston, Maine when they won the Class A State Championship title! This GoFundMe is set up as means of purchasing state championship rings for the 26 players, 6 coaches, and 1 athletic trainer.

On October 25th our boys had just defeated Mt. Blue in overtime to advance in playoffs. As fans and the team were leaving the field, our hearts were torn apart when mass shootings occurred at two local businesses killing 18 people and wounding 13. While a manhunt took place for the shooter, life was put on hold and our boys soccer teams quest for a state championship title was put on pause. As life resumed back to a new normal for our community, so did practices and games. Our boys made it their mission to bring home a state championship to their community. Winning two more playoff games, the team earned the opportunity to compete for the title on November 11th. The team rallied with the entire Lewiston Strong community behind them and defeated Deering High

School in a 3-2 overtime victory earning the coveted title of State of Maine Class A Boys Champions!

The team has been honored by the Lewiston City Council, interviewed by multiple media sources, making world news, recognized by President Biden, voted Team of the Year by Varsity Maine, and on Sunday, December 3rd they will be recognized by the New England Patriots before they take on the Los Angeles Chargers at Gillette Stadium .

The team is made up of 26 players from the countries of Angola, Somalia, Congo, Jamaica, Chad, Kenya, and the US. Collectively, they speak 7 different languages. Despite the diversity of the team, they are brothers. They are family. Their season began in mid August. Since then they have practiced an average of 15 hours a week with 2-3 games a week. They set out to win a state title but in the quest won so much much more for themselves and their community of Lewiston.

Thank you in advance for your compassion and kindness. All donations will be designated specifically for the purchase of state championship rings for the team.

Background: Lewiston High School is amongst the largest high schools in the state of Maine, with a current enrollment of approximately 1500 students in grades 9-12.

Lewiston High School's diverse student population consists of thirty percent immigrant and refugee students, with over thirty-three different spoken languages in our school. Adding to our diversity is a sizable English Language Learner (ELL) population of approximately 375 students. Lewiston is a low income community with an median household income of approximately $48,000 (https://data.census.gov/profile?q=lewiston+maine).