Dear Fans,
While practicing at Meadow View Middle School in west Eugene at 8:00 on a Thursday night, two Corvallis Pride players' cars were broken into. The thieves took a purse, an overnight bag, a backpack, and a book bag. They smashed three windows.
The Pride tried for weeks to find a field to use for a midweek practice in the Corvallis and Albany area. They faced rejection after rejection. Undaunted, the committed crew rented the closest field they could find. Each week seven to ten players make the trek, over an hour drive for most, to practice under the eerie lights of Meadow View's field on a "school night." Some have to get a babysitter to watch their children, some have to get up at an ungodly hour for work the next morning, some have to borrow gas money, but they go to learn and to get better. For years the Pride has strived to include a midweek practice in their schedule, knowing it is vital to a successful season. They are dedicated women that want to win games.
The Pride, with barely enough players and still looking for more recruits for the 2010 season, struggles to support itself through fundraising every year. This season the Pride formed an executive committee to organize and focus their efforts. Two positions that were created to help guide the team were a treasurer and a fundraising coordinator. These two women have been working hard to make sure the team financially flourishes this season. These two women were the owners of the two cars that were broken into. Among their personal and valuable possessions stolen were Pride promotional materials, fundraising forms, sponsorship packages, and game day programs advertisements. With these orders and forms were checks and cash that Pride players had given them to be deposited in the team account. As of right now, it is unknown what the total value was of the funds stolen, but it is a huge blow.
The Corvallis Pride Women's Tackle Football Team perseveres. It always has. This will not defeat us. We will reach out to our community, our friends, our family, and ourselves and we will hold each other up.
To help the Pride persevere, you can donate to the team through our Pay Pal account or you can send a check to the Corvallis Pride at P.O. Box 342 Corvallis, Oregon 97339
