Support a teammate and donate

Many of us have been affected by cancer in some way.  Elyse is raising money for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer.


Visit Elyse's fundraising page here...and make a donation to support a teammate!

Dear Family and Friends,             I am excited to tell you on October 14-16 my mother and I will be participating in the Avon Walk to help fight breast cancer.  Breast cancer is a disease that has touched everyone’s life in some way.  Likewise, this is personal to me since my own mother was diagnosed with breast cancer.  I am proud to say that she is a 12 year survivor! She feels that her life was saved through awareness and early diagnosis. This will be the second time my mother is doing this walk.  Eleven years ago when I stood at the finish line and watched her complete the 60 mile walk wearing a pink survivor shirt, I never felt prouder and wanted more than anything to complete another walk by her side.  I am doing this walk to celebrate my mom, continue to raise awareness, and help defeat this horrible that disease that threatens my family, my future family, as well as all of our loved ones.              A quote that my mom shared with me since a young age was, “You’re not a failure if you fall down, you’re a failure if you don’t get back up.”  My mom didn’t only teach me this quote, but she showed me its true meaning.              Please join me in this important fundraiser by donating whatever you can to support my walk to continue awareness, prevention, and early diagnosis. You can make a donation online by simply clicking on the link at the bottom of this message. Whatever you can give will help! I truly appreciate your support and will keep you posted on my progress. With love and thanks, Elyse

*Avon image courtesy of Avon Walk for the Cure (no copyright information on the website).

A small step

We raised a quick and impressive $300 at the game this week for Andy and the fight against cancer. I have sent your contributions to LUC, and they have already been forwarded to the American Cancer Society. The effort brought in a total haul of almost $1200. The money will be designated for cancer research.

Here's what Andy wrote to me this morning:

"The donation for cancer research was a whopping $1,165!!!! Which is pretty awesome since it was put together in a week. Peter- please thank your team
for doing this! You are a great group of players and I am very humbled and grateful for your teams participation. Tim- I am equally humbled and grateful for our team and their participation in this."

I don't think collecting money has ever been this easy. When people read about the challenge and the opportunity, they stepped up. It made for a nice atmosphere at the game. Clearly, a lot of us have been touched by cancer and are doing our best not to take anything - not even soccer - for granted.

THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR PARTICIPATING!


Post updated

Contribution made to United for DC

Last week, we made our bi-annual contribution to United for DC, the DC United charitable foundation that has become our designated charity.

Kate Larned and the DC United staff were very appreciative as usual for our team's efforts.

We don't raise a lot of money, but it's adding up. We contributed $200 this season. I think that brings up to around $1500 over the last few years.

Pledges are coming in

As you may have seen on email, our opponents this weekend are playing for a lot more than the win. One of their players, Andy, is engaged in a fight with cancer. LUC has decided to make this weekend's final matchup versus Goleros a charity event. They are asking players around the league to pledge $5 per goal scored by either team, with a maximum pledge of $20 (unless you want to pay more).

The Goleros are rising to this challenge.

Oure pledge sheet is growing. We have 6 pledges so far and more are expected.

Here is the email traffic on the matter, if you're interested:

Goleros -

I apologize for the many emails this week, but there's
lots of important stuff going on. I was just contacted by our
opponents this weekend and it turns out they are playing for a lot more than the
win. One of their founding members, Andy, is fighting cancer and will
play in the game. The team has organized a league-wide fundraiser in
his honor. Players are being asked to pledge $5 per goal scored
by either team in the Goleros-Little Urban Achievers championship game.
Pledges are limited to $20 (4 goals) unless you want to give
more.

I think it's important that we participate since, among
other things, we want to support Andy's recovery and re-introduction to soccer
and the Goleros are featuring in this event.

Please reply to your captains if you will join the Goleros pledge sheet. You can
specificy a precise donation if you prefer.

Here's to a 4-0 Goleros win and generous support for a great cause by both
teams.

Regards,

Pete & Ally


---------- Forwarded message ----------

From: Tim
Date: Tue, Jun 22, 2010 at 5:03 PM

Subject: re: Soccer Game Question for this Sunday!

To: Goleros Soccer Club

Good afternoon Peter,

Congrats on your team’s success – my team looks forward to taking youon this coming Sunday at 1pm!Anyways – I wanted to run an idea past you to see if you and yourteammates may be interested in participating.This week is an important one for one of the founding members of oursoccer team – Andy. A year ago this time – he was diagnosed with a form of cancer that he was committed to beat. By late
summer oflast year, Andy was already on the mend, and so far, his recovery
hasbeen nothing short of extraordinary. In fact, he was able to get backon
the field with us for this spring season.In talking with folks – our team
decided we wanted to do somethingextra special for this weeks game to celebrate
Andy’s triumph in themost important fight of his life. We want to see if
we could convinceyou to sign up your teammates as well.For this weekend’s game,
we are asking each member of our team toconsider making a financial pledge to
the American Cancer Society.

Specifically, we are asking them to make a contribution pledge foreach goal that is scored in our championship match. Don’t worry – themaximum number of goals we told people that they will be on the hookfor is 4 – any goals beyond that won’t count towards their pledgeunless they want them too.

Personally – I have pledged to Andy that I will give $5 to ACS forevery goal scored and I hope that you and some of your teammates willconsider doing the same. We are reaching out to other captains andthe league to join in. Our hope is that we can collect enough $20 contributions (4 goals at $5 each) that we can make a contribution on Andy’s behalf to the American Cancer Society that we can all be proudof.Let me know what you think, if you have any questions and / or if youwant to participate in
this very important effort, and at what $level. If you and your teammates
are planning on donating, pleaseadvise them to bring cash or check with them to
the field on Sunday so that we can settle up right after the game.I really do
think this would be a fun way to add to our season finalethis Sunday. That
being said – if folks want to take a pass, I certainly understand, so don’t feel
like you have to participate – butI at least wanted to make you aware.

Thanks

Peter – if you want to call me about this idea, by all meansreach me at
XXXXXXX. I am looking forward to Sunday’s matchup!

Tim

Little Urban Achievers FC

Charitable contributions low - pls give

There's good news and bad news. The good news is that people are paying their dues on time, which is awesome. The bad news is that charitable contributions are dropping off. Of course, these days you have to watch over your money so it's understandable. But let's do our best to keep the program alive. Contribute if you can!

Thanks for considering it!

Charitable donation made

I finally cut the check to United for DC. Sorry for holding the funds so long. I kind of lost track of time during the busy fall season.

Below is the text of the letter we are sending in today on behalf of the team.

Thanks to everyone for giving!

November 9, 2009

Ms. Kate Larned

United for D.C.
c/o RFK Stadium
2400 East Capitol Street S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003

Dear Kate,

On behalf of the Goleros Soccer Club, we are pleased to present United for DC with another modest contribution, this one in the amount of $220.00. We are big supporters of your organization and enthusiastic fans of the DC United.

As you know, the Goleros are an adult, co-ed, recreational soccer team that plays in the District (http://www.golerosteam.blogspot.com). Founded in 2000, we play our games on Sundays in the Capital Coed Soccer League (CCSL – http://theccsl.com). Our team nominated United for DC as a designated charity for which we reserve a portion of our bi-annual dues. We hope to continue making periodic donations to support your organization’s mission of promoting literacy and healthy living for local children. Since we began raising money for this effort, we have contributed a total of $1250.00.

It’s always a pleasure to work with you. Best wishes in implementing your programs and activities this year. At your convenience, please acknowledge this contribution with a receipt.

Sincerely,

Peter & Allison

Captains

cc: Zach Walker, Caithlin Gorman

Out of the darkness (re-posted)

One of our newest teammates, Tracy, is raising money for suicide prevention. She has joined the Out of the Darkness campaign, which is sponsoring a walk on the national mall on Oct. 24th.

Visit her fundraising page and make a donation in support of a great cause.

Best regards to Tracy in this fundraising effort. You can contact her at tracybie AT gmail DOT com.

Deadline for dues is Sunday

Lots of people have paid me, which is great! At the same time, however, it appears as if several players will miss the deadline that was announced a month ago. See our payment policy here. If I don't have your money before Aug. 30th, you can't play until you've paid and your roster spot isn't secure (unless you've talked to me separately). I avoided this kind of approach for years, but last season things just didn't work. I got strung out for weeks and months by some players.

Please arrange for payment by Sunday. Use paypal (to my personal account) or send to my home address. I sent out emails with those instructions.

On the charity side, contributions are way up this season! We should have a healthy donation to United for DC. So please keep them coming.

Fall dues are $100* - deadline is Aug. 30th

Fall season is fast approaching and it's time to pay up. Please note that we have a new payment policy, which is posted below.

Again this season, we encourage everyone to make a suggested donation of $20 to our charity program. Over the course of several seasons, we've been able to collect more than $1000 for local childrens' programs at United for DC!

Please send the money via paypal to pdi.usa(AT)gmail(DOT)com.

$80 Dues
$20 Optional charitable contribution
--------------------
$100 TOTAL

Thanks!

A "thank you"

Last week, you saw our charitable donation go through.  This week, we got a note from Kate Larned at United for DC, thanking us for the donation.  Thought I would pass it along.  It provides a nice update of what the organization is doing and how our modest contributions are helping.  Check out United for DC's website here.

Best wishes to Kate and her team - and keep up the good work! 

Hi Peter and Ally,

 

Sara is no longer working at D.C. United- she left to be a full-time mom. I have been working here for almost two years and have taken over running the foundation since Sara left. I can't tell you how much we appreciate your support over the years- especially in economic times such as these. The check arrived late last week so I will have your charitable receipt to you this week.

 

Our year has been going pretty well. We just finished our second set of spring reading visits at our six adopted D.C. schools. The children completed a three-week reading challenge and all got excited for summer reading (as farfetched as that seems). As well, United Soccer Club just finished up its spring after-school soccer program. And our next fundraiser- the golf tournament- is coming up on July 9th. So as you can tell things are moving right along.

 

It has been a tough year for finding sponsors and donations so your contribution is greatly appreciated. Our Kicks for Kids program in particular is struggling to find support but your donation alone will help us bring out seven kids to experience a game that otherwise wouldn't have had the opportunity.

 

Again, thank you for keeping us in mind. We hope to see you at an event soon.

 

Best,

Kate

Charitable contribution made on behalf of team

We closed the books on our charity drive and sent the following letter to United for DC on behalf of the team:

June 3, 2009

Ms. Sara Peterson
Program Manager
United for D.C.
c/o RFK Stadium
2400 East Capitol Street S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003

Dear Sara,

On behalf of the Goleros Soccer Club, we are pleased to present United for DC with a modest contribution in the amount of $150.00. We are big supporters of your organization and enthusiastic fans of the DC United.

The Goleros are an adult, co-ed, recreational soccer team that plays in the District (http://www.golerosteam.blogspot.com). Founded in 2000, we play our games on Sundays in the Capital Coed Soccer League (CCSL – http://theccsl.com). Our team nominated United for DC as a designated charity for which we reserve a portion of our bi-annual dues. We hope to continue making periodic donations to support your organization’s mission of promoting literacy and healthy living for local children. Since we began raising money for this effort, we have contributed a total of $1030.00.

It’s always a pleasure to work with you. Best wishes in implementing your programs and activities this year.

Sincerely,



Peter & Allison
Captains

cc: Zach Walker, Caithlin Gorman

Personally, I want to thank people for giving in this difficult time. Money is tight right now for everyone. Contributions were down significantly this season but hopefully, we can bring them back up next season. We will probably do a little re-evaluation of the program as well. Anyway, this is yet another reason why we are an awesome team!

Thanks for your donations!

Thanks everyone, for your donations to our charity program. Today, I released $450 in funds to United for DC (see letter below). The funds were collected during both the spring and fall seasons in 2008.

We had a great participation rate in the fall - more than 65%, which exceeded our goal! Granted, United for DC could probably raise more money with one phone call to a larger donor, but $450 ain't nothing. Since 2007, we've now made $880 in contributions. Next time, we'll break the $1,000 mark, which will be a real accomplishment. What makes the program work is that I already have to collect money from the team - a few extra bucks here and there add up.

Thanks again!

Goleros Soccer Club

http://www.golerosteam.blogspot.com
golerosteam AT gmail.com


September 29, 2008

Ms. Sara Peterson
Program Manager
United for D.C.
c/o RFK Stadium
2400 East Capitol Street S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003

Dear Sara,

On behalf of 25 recreational soccer players and supporters of the DC United organization, we would like to present another modest contribution to United for DC – this one, in the amount of $450.00.

The Goleros are an adult, co-ed, recreational soccer team based in Washington, D.C. (http://www.golerosteam.blogspot.com). Founded in 2000, we play on Sundays in the Capital Coed Soccer League (CCSL – http://theccsl.com). Our team nominated United for DC as a designated charity for which we reserve a portion of our bi-annual dues. We hope to continue making periodic donations to support your organization’s mission of promoting literacy and healthy living for local children.

It continues to be a pleasure to work with you. Thank you for including us on various mail and email correspondence regarding upcoming events. We’re hoping to send a few representatives to the annual awards reception at the end of October; we will let you know.

Best regards,



Pete & Jackie
Captains

cc: Zach Walker, Caithlin Gorman

Budget not affected by global financial crisis

Don't worry, team finances are in good shape, despite the global financial crisis. Here is a budget report.

Almost everyone is paid up for the fall season. Dues were $1650 plus a $25 overage fee since we decided to retain a little known alternate by the name of Carlos. I'm not trying to say he's little. Unlike last year, when our roster could swell to 30, we're only allowed 25 players. We have 23 full time players, which is one of the largest teams we've ever had - thus, the lower dues. We shouldn't have a problem fielding a team week-to-week.

Do you have an opinion on dues - do we get our money's worth from the league?

People really stepped up for the charity program this season - about 65% of the team participated! I am thrilled with that; it beats expectations. We had always aimed for 50% and gotten about 33-40%. Shortly, we'll be sending a check for about $400 to United for DC. I'll do another post on it. Really cool.

Is everyone happy with our choice of United for DC as the charity recipient?

Charity report

As of today, we have a 100% participation rate in our charity program.  That is awesome, let's keep it up! 

Budget report

Team finances are in decent shape, all things considered.  

For dues, we're running a deficit for the year.  We have a few delinquents out there - you'll get emails from me.  I'm not a bank, please remember that.  Most of the deficit comes from indoor, because two guys who signed up bolted before the first game.  We were actually running a surplus for a long time because the indoor league never bothered to charge me.  I had to remind them like three times.  They just did it in July; I was about to issue refunds.

For our charity program, which is off budget, we collected $125 in the Spring season.  Because it took a while to get everyone paid up I never disbursed the money.  I'll hold onto it until fall and send the whole jackpot to United for DC at once.  It's just as well, our spring total is a  little disappointing.  Previously, we raised more, with a 50% participation rate, despite higher dues.  This time around, less than a third of the team contributed.  Let's raise a nice sum this fall.  Pretty soon, we'll pass that $1,000 mark in total contributions over the year or so that we've been doing the charity program.

Fall dues were paid to the league this week.  That's the topic of a future post.

Spring 2008 dues

Time to pay up folks!

Dues are as follows:

$85.00 Player fees

$15.00 Optional donation to team-designated charity

Total: $100 w/ charity or $85 w/out

Please pay immediately via paypal (to pdi.usa@gmail.com). I will also accept cash or check at the field. If you go that route, please bring to the first game.

Let me give some further details for those who want them. First, the team's books are always open to those with a google account. I continually run a deficit paid out of my own pocket, but as long as it's reasonable, I don't mind, it's worth it to me. For instance, two players flaked for our indoor season and my personal dues were about $300, versus $70 for the other players. It happens.

Second, dues are almost $10 cheaper this season versus last (they were $93) - we hit our target. We are in good position in terms of the number of players on the team, which is the key.

Third, this charity program is really working out. Read about it here if you're new. We're averaging about a 50% contribution rate among players. I'd like to up that so we can keep the money rolling into United for DC.

Thanks everyone!

Charitable program successful

The second go-round of our charitable program was successful! We set a team goal to exceed the $180 contribution we made in the spring. We managed to reach $250.00 this time, with some matching by your captains. We had a modest participation rate of 50%. If we can get that to 75% in the future, we're set. In any case, thanks everyone for giving. We're giving a little back and, in the meantime, establishing a good relationship with the DC United.

Here is the letter to United to DC from the team:

November 6, 2007

Ms. Sara Rabe
Program Manager
United for D.C.
c/o RFK Stadium
2400 East Capitol Street S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003

Dear Sara,

On behalf of 20 recreational soccer players and fans of DC United, I would like to present our second contribution to United for DC. Although it is a modest contribution of $250.00, it represents an increase over our contribution this past spring.

As you may know, the Goleros are an adult, co-ed, recreational soccer team based in Washington, D.C. Founded seven years ago, we play on Sundays in the Capital Coed Soccer League (CCSL – http://theccsl.com). We have nominated United for DC as a designated charity for which we reserve a portion of our bi-annual dues. We hope to continue making periodic donations to support your organization’s mission of promoting literacy and healthy living for local children.

On a personal note, thank you for email acknowledgment of our last contribution. I posted it on our blog, which I think helped generate some additional interest in contributing to the charitable program this year. In the future, please feel free to keep us apprised of your organization’s activities by email or snail mail. I hope that the annual charitable dinner was successful; next year, we hope to send some representatives.

Best regards,



Pete & Megan
Captains

cc: Zach Walker

Pay your dues; support the kids

Paying your dues - only a few days left to pay up. About half the team has paid. Per the email, please send me the money immediately if you haven't already.

Supporting the kids - we are making progress. Our goal is to contribute more than $180 to United for DC. Our participation rate is about 60% right now. That needs to go up a little bit to reach the goal. It's just $13 if you can swing it.

To that end, your captains will match your contributions again this season - subject to a total limit.

Thanks!

Bad news: I need your money

It's time to pay up. As previously reported here, they are on the high side. Unfortunately, we have to pass on the increased fees charged by the league plus try to offset the fact that we had a smaller roster when we started the season. Let me repeat that the team's finances are open to everyone, 'cause I know you work hard for your money.

We're going to keep the charity program rolling as well. Let's try to beat the $180 mark that we set last season. It's just a few extra bucks. Remember, the donation is optional. For newbies, you can read about our charity program here.

Without further ado...

Dues $92
Donation $13

TOTAL $105

Please send the money within 1 week. I will send payment instructions by email.

Message from DCU

We got this response from DC United and its charity arm, United for DC. Thanks again to everyone who contributed.

Peter and Megan,

I wanted to write and let you know that I received the check with your donation to United for D.C. Thank you so much for supporting United for D.C.'s efforts in the greater Washington D.C. community. With your contribution you will help to support our signature programs, Kicks for Kids, United Reads and the newest program, United Soccer Club, which provides after-school clinics for youth in the Ward 8 community.

I greatly appreciate your decision to support our charity. Please let me know if you are interested in receiving information about our fundraisers throughout the course of the year. We have our golf tournament set for Monday, June 18 and there will also be an end of the year team awards reception in October. I will be sending a contribution receipt shortly. Feel free to contact me with any questions.

Thanks again,

Sara

Sara Rabe
Program Manager, United for D.C.
United for D.C., the charitable arm of D.C. United
c/o RFK Stadium
2400 East Capitol Street S.E.
Washington D.C. 20003