I (Ann Meredith) am setting this up on behalf of the Forward Madison Football Club Academy Family for one of our MLS Next Academy U19 Team Players, Martin, whose life was turned upside down this weekend.

While he and his mother were in Minneapolis for a soccer tournament, his mother was taken by ICE and detained with no certain path forward. In a matter of hours, he went from traveling with his mom to being completely on his own. He returned home without her, his extended family is in Mexico and he is now here alone in the United States trying to finish high school, graduate, and pursue his dream of going to college.

This young man is exactly the kind of kid you hope to see succeed. He is kind, hardworking, respectful, and deeply committed to both his education and soccer. He has done everything right. He stayed in school. He shows up for practice. He supports his teammates. He works toward his future. None of that prepared him for losing his only parent overnight.

Right now, he needs help with basic things most of us take for granted:

• Rent and housing

• Food

• Gas and transportation to school and soccer

• Electricity, phone, and other utilities

• Basic living expenses while he finishes high school

He should be worrying about finals, graduation, and college applications. Instead, he is trying to figure out how to survive without his mom here to support him.

Every dollar raised will go directly toward keeping him housed, fed, and able to stay in school and continue playing soccer while he completes his senior year. This support will give him stability during a time when everything familiar was taken from him.

If you are able to donate, please know that your gift is not just financial. It is giving this young man a chance to keep going. It is telling him that he is not alone. It is helping him hold onto his future when everything else has been pulled away.

If you cannot donate, please consider sharing this fundraiser so it reaches people who can.

Thank you for supporting this incredible young man during the hardest moment of his life.

Thank you for caring and supporting our players,

Forward Madison Football Club Youth Academy

VAMOS MINGOS!!!