staff reporter
Pitt Meadows soccer players have helped raise more than $3,000 in less than a day to help fund the Haitian women’s soccer team.
Members of the U-11 Pitt Meadows Pride girls’ select team and the U-11 Junior Caps select B team went door-to-door to raise the funds, which will be distributed to the Haitian Soccer Association via the Canadian Soccer Association and allocated to the development of youth and women’s programs in Haiti.
The 10- and 11-year-olds were inspired by the adversity the Haitian team had to overcome to appear at the CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifiers in Vancouver following the earthquake that devastated the Caribbean island in January 2010, says their coach Jamie Schwingenschloegl.
The Haitian team has little funding, and is in need of the most basic supplies for their team, including first aid kits, and mosquito nets.
Supporters of the Haitian team have set up a website where people can donate online to help the impoverished team, at The Haitian team has www.haitiwomenssoccer.com
Schwingenschloegl said he was happy to see his players pitch in to help.
“It was a fantastic experience for the girls and one that I am certain they will remember forever,” he said. “They understand the importance of competition and fair play but more importantly the need to give back to their local community.”
West Coast Auto Group also donated $500 to help the cause. In 2012/2013, Pitt Meadows and Golden Ears are merging into a single soccer club under the West Coast Auto Group Football Club banner.
“The girls of Pitt Meadows are an inspiration to their local community and the money they have raised for Haitian team will really help as the association continues to rebuild its soccer programme after it was decimated in 2010,” said Charlie Cuzzetto, president of B.C. Soccer.
The two teams went door-to-door to collect more than 2,000 items of food for the Friends in Need Food Bank during the holiday season, and raised more than $1,000 for the Canadian Tire Jumpstart Program.
The club is also part of a boot swap that generates hundreds of dollars each year for KidSport, a non-profit organization that works to remove financial barriers that prevent children from playing organized sports.
• For more information on how to help the Haitian women’s soccer team, visit www.haitiwomenssoccer.com