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Gainesville football team raises $80k for charity, new field
Eighty thousand dollars is a lot of money for anyone to come up with. But for children knocking on doors and soliciting from their friends and families, it's astronomical.
Yet that's how much the Gainesville Grizzlies raised for their annual 5K last weekend.
“The money was actually raised by the kids,” said Laura Landrum, a board member and spokesperson for the youth football league. “The children, through their efforts, raised $80,000.
Almost 900 children from all over Prince William participate in the Grizzly football and cheerleading programs. Each player asked members of the community to sponsor them in the 5K run, which was held at Virginia Gateway in Gainesville on Saturday.
Landrum said 870 people participated in the race, far exceeding the 600 they had expected.
The $80,000 they raised also left last year's total -- $55,000 -- in the dust.
The organization donated $5,000 of their total to Youth For Tomorrow, a group home for at-risk teens in Bristow. The rest will be used for the Grizzly “Field of Dreams” campaign.
“We have 900 children in the program and we have one football field,” Landrum said, explaining that Tyler Elementary School has the only local field. More than 80 percent of the league's games are played in Fairfax or in other parts of Prince William.
“Which is why these kids worked so hard,” she said.
The league is trying to raise enough money to construct a football field of its very own in western Prince William. Over the last three years, they've raised $200,000 -- a third of the $600,000 needed for just one field.
Leaders have already found space in Catharpin and Landrum said they are working with the Park Authority and county supervisors to secure a deal.
Because the land there won't sustain grass very well, the field would need to be set with turf, which is part of the high expense, she said.
“We're hoping that once we're ready to build, the community and the business community will help us out with the rest of (the cost),” she added.
To make a donation to the Grizzlies, visit www.grizzlyfootball.org.
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