Qualifying for the World Series came as a surprise for the girls’ team from Glen Allen. They qualified by winning a tournament in Manassas Virginia early in July and that left them with barely two weeks to prepare for the World Series event in Jensen Beach held from 25th July to 3rd August. This small window made it difficult for them to raise the funds needed to make an appearance.
Danielle Harris, who is a ‘team mom’ and supporter estimated that it would cost approximately $3,000 per player for the team to attend the tournament. The team asked for donations to help raise the $15,000 needed in order to get them there.
Pictures of the team standing behind banner printing that said ‘12 and Under – 2019 STATE CHAMPIONS’ helped encourage people to make donations. The team started a Go-Fund-Me page and raised almost $5,000 from the public before the tournament started. The players are grateful for every dollar donated and one of the players, Brianna Harris, stated that:
“It would really mean a lot to all of us and it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity for a lot of us.”
The donation from Walmart went a long way to making sure that the team was able to go. The biggest expenses were travel costs at $200 per player and accommodation at $100 for one night of accommodation for each family.