Tap, tap, tap… Is This Thing On?
December 3, 2008
Do you know that the longer you don’t write on your blog, the easier it is to just not write anything? Blog? What blog?
Oh no, she isn’t pulling out the bullet points again, is she? Yes, yes I am.
1) The pie sale was a smashing success. Remember the pie sale? From Thanksgiving Day? Yeah, that one. All the pies sold, much to the dismay of the children who thought that they would get to eat any of the leftover ones.
2)Sunday we did another stand outside the grocery store with a can and beg for money day which also raised quite a bit of money.
3) Monday we had a pasta dinner. I was seriously surprised by the turn out and equally surprised at how nice it all was. I would totally have eaten there if I could eat pasta. My poor oldest son, he of the all fruit all the time diet, thought he was being tortured. So I bought him a diet coke. And for a special treat I allowed him to get it WITH ice.
My 9 yr old son who came with us to work the table with the raffle tickets made up for both us, finishing the night with a big cup of meatballs. Yes, a cup of them. To go. A few hours later he would sorely regret the decision to eat his body weight in meatballs when they all came back up.
The most important bullet point:
4) As of Monday night, we raised enough money to send the team to Florida. Let me say that again. WE MET OUR GOAL! I can not explain how huge this is. A huge thank you to everyone who donated.
Three weeks ago when all the parents and coaches sat together and discussed whether or not we wanted to accept the invitation and go to the National Championship, I don’t think that one of us expected that we would actually raise all of the money. We hoped we would. The need just seemed so great.
We hoped that local businesses would step up and sponsor the team. That didn’t happen. Instead the money was raised mostly ONE DOLLAR at a time. Just ask the bank tellers who have been presented with a thousand of dollars in one dollar bills on a Saturday afternoon. It was raised with pocket change. It was given by people who would apologize that they didn’t have more to give. It was raised by people who dug into their pockets and gave us all the change they had.
And every time we would say, “Every little bit helps. It all adds up.”
I think at first we said it, but didn’t really believe it. Even us as adults, maybe I should just say me here since I can’t speak for everyone. I couldn’t fully grasp over $20,000 of pocket change and rumpled dollar bills. I was a doubter. But I said it anyway because I wanted the boys to believe.
That is the thing that makes me a little teary about raising the money.
What a valuable lesson they have learned, one they would have been deprived of had a huge donation come in. They have seen how hard work pays off. They have seen first hand the kindness of strangers, those who donated money as well as those who just acknowledged their presence and wished them luck. (We won’t talk about the people who rushed passed them and refused to even make eye contact. Though I know the boys learned something from them as well.) They have seen what it means to be generous and how those with the least to give seem to give the most. They have felt a community rally behind them and they are prepared to go and represent that community in a way that would make everyone proud.
They know now that anything is possible.
We are the underdog team going to this championship. A team of only 17 boys going up against teams that are well oiled, and well funded, machines. I feel like we are the Jamaican bobsled team of youth football.
Winning even one of the games would be nice, but it would just be icing on the cake. These kids are already proud of themselves and their hard work. As they should be.
5) And now that I am feeling all warm and fuzzy I need to go beat my children with my quart sized ziploc bag filled with 2.5 oz liquid containers. These children insist that they have no warm weather clothing, have never had warm weather clothing, and in fact they don’t even know what clothing is. And they say all of this with a straight face which makes me question if their football helmets are not padded nearly enough.
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Congrats to the boys and their parents on raising the money! I hope the boys have a great time!
December 3rd, 2008 at 10:16 amHurray! Have fun in Florida.
December 3rd, 2008 at 10:21 amGreat job on your great fundraising!
December 3rd, 2008 at 10:31 amI am all choked up. Congratulations for raising the money, and kudos, too, to your town for getting behind the team!
December 3rd, 2008 at 11:05 amCongrats, and may your son make weight with a pound to spare.
December 3rd, 2008 at 12:00 pmThat’s fantastic! Congrats to you and the team. And much luck to the boys in Florida…we’re all rooting for you!
December 3rd, 2008 at 12:07 pmHuzzah!! Can’t wait to hear all about it!
December 3rd, 2008 at 12:14 pmWay to go!
Have a great trip and I am looking forward to hearing all about it.
December 3rd, 2008 at 12:27 pmThat’s fantastic news. It a bit like Barack, isn’t it, all the money from small contributions adds up! We had our equivalent over the summer when my 14 year old went to our National Finals in Hurling (Ireland, very very local!) They were beaten in the finals and were heartbroken but as you say, valuable lessons learnt. he had been on the bench at the end of the previous season but played every single match this season. I have lost count of the number of times I reminded him that he had said he would be happy if he could just get to start the matches!
December 3rd, 2008 at 12:36 pmHe also spent many hours fundraising. Bag pavking became his all time hate!
Enjoy the trip. The memories will stay with him forvever
Yay! Congratulations!
December 3rd, 2008 at 12:40 pmCongratulations! Go kick some ass in Florida! I mean, go have some good clean fun in Florida!
December 3rd, 2008 at 12:44 pmChris, that is AMAZING!!! I am so happy for your son and his teammates! What incredible memories to look back on… and to trot out in front of their children a long time from now. “When I was your age and my team needed to raise money, we stood out in the FREEZING COLD and LIKED it!”
December 3rd, 2008 at 12:52 pmChris, you should adapt that as a letter to the editor of your local newspaper so that the community can hear such an eloquent thank you for their generosity.
December 3rd, 2008 at 12:58 pmYAY! Yay yay yay!! I am feeling so warm and fuzzy right now.
Congratulations, and I hope you’ve also given your kids a memory of how hard you worked personally to make their dreams come true.
December 3rd, 2008 at 12:59 pmWhooo Hooo! Glad you guys raised enough money. Ok now that it done I’m gonna need you back on your bloggy duties! :o)
No seriously though, I’m happy to know the little ones have a chance and I’m sure they’ll do GREAT!
December 3rd, 2008 at 1:23 pmWell, you never know - they might not need the really warm weather clothing - it’s only 61 in Orlando right now.
Chris says: 61 is a HEAT WAVE to us.
December 3rd, 2008 at 1:38 pmCongratulations! When does Fruit Boy get weighed?
Chris says: Sunday at 8:00 am. Not that we are counting down the hours or anything.
December 3rd, 2008 at 1:45 pmAs another mother of a player on this team i want to also thank everyone who donated and i want to thank the parents and the players of our team and league for making this event happen GO WARRIORS GO
Chris says: Yes I suppose the parents had something to do with it too
See ya tonight, tammy.
December 3rd, 2008 at 2:01 pmAWESOME!!! I am so glad you managed to raise enough, I can’t wait to hear how they do.
December 3rd, 2008 at 2:22 pmCongratulations!!
December 3rd, 2008 at 3:15 pmCongratulations! That’s great news!
December 3rd, 2008 at 3:33 pmThat is WONDERFUL news! I am so happy for you and your Jamaican Bobsled Football team. What an amazing experience they will all have.
And I totally have my fingers crossed for Fruit Boy’s weigh-in.
December 3rd, 2008 at 3:59 pmAWESOME! Have a blast, boys, moms, dads and coaches and…!
December 3rd, 2008 at 4:11 pm(Hee - “I feel like we are the Jamaican bobsled team of youth football.”)
Hooray!! Have fun in Florida!
December 3rd, 2008 at 4:42 pmWhat’s amazing to me (besides the $20,000 part) is how quickly this all came together.
Congratulations and enjoy every minute of Florida. I expect a full report.
December 3rd, 2008 at 4:58 pmCOOL RUNNINGS! Go, bobsledders! I am so proud of the team for persevering, even when it seemed like the amount was out of reach. I am proud to have played even a very small role in helping them get to go to the championships. Win or lose, what an incredible experience. Take lots of pictures!!
December 3rd, 2008 at 5:11 pmCongratulations! I wish them the best of luck! Here’s hoping your son makes weight!! As hard as he’s worked this season, he deserves this trip.
December 3rd, 2008 at 5:33 pmI’m so happy for your team! That is truly a learning exprience that the boys will always remember!
December 3rd, 2008 at 5:54 pmGood luck!!
I am so happy to hear that you raised the goal amount! I wish all the boys the best of luck and can’t wait to see posts about it!
December 3rd, 2008 at 6:38 pmYay! Praying for a good weigh-in for fruit boy next!
December 3rd, 2008 at 7:45 pmWe’ve stood outside many a store in my last 4 years worth of boys in travel baseball. I know how you feel and yes, they learn about so much. They’ve even seen their parents yelled at by people who thought it was terrible that our children were “panhandling” for money.
A big congratulations and hope you all have a wonderful time!
December 3rd, 2008 at 7:48 pmCongratulations!!!
December 3rd, 2008 at 8:27 pmThat is absolutely wonderful news. I look forward to hearing about the event and how they all do.
Chris, you always seem to teach your kids such valuable lessons, these will see them through a successful and happy life both now and in the future.
To ALL the boys on the team WELL DONE and I wish you al the best.
To ALL the Parents and Kids involved with all of the fundraising WELL DONE you should be so very proud of yourselves.
Take Care, Good Luck with the weight in on Sunday.
December 3rd, 2008 at 8:29 pmLots of Love Carolynn.
Holy cow… WAY TO GO! That’s basically the most amazing thing I’ve ever heard. That is absolutely awesome.
Go you!!! Go Boys!!! JAMAICA’S GOT A BOBSLED TEAM!!!
December 3rd, 2008 at 10:28 pmCongrats on the fundraising. I have stood out in the cold with the cup raising money for my son’s Taekwondo team to go to the Junior Olymipcs. Very eye opening for us and the boys.
December 4th, 2008 at 8:13 amAnd speaking of cups, I found out the errors of my ways when I ate a cup of meatballs, too. They came up a couple of hours later. Poor guy!
W00T!! right on… Did you get a tattoo in celebration, his jersey number say, or to cover the slits on your wrists from your attempts at putting yourself out of this misery of fundraising? LOL
December 4th, 2008 at 10:01 amCongratulations!!!!! Best of luck to the team!
December 4th, 2008 at 11:00 amoh yay! I’m thrilled for him and the rest of the team.
December 4th, 2008 at 11:19 am–steph
That is wonderful. The boys and parents should be so very proud.
Be sure and post lots of pics of the trip….football and Disney!
Go warriors!
December 4th, 2008 at 11:21 amReading this made me tear up. I’m so glad for you all that you reached your goal — just making the effort? What a gift you all have given your children.
December 4th, 2008 at 12:41 pmCongratulations on raising the needed money! Best of luck to your team!
December 4th, 2008 at 4:25 pmCongratulations on reaching your goal. Good luck team!!!!
December 4th, 2008 at 9:56 pmYou did it!! Congratulations to the team for reaching their goal. I can’t wait to hear all about their fabulous trip to Florida and best of luck!!
December 9th, 2008 at 1:36 am