Rick Stiebel
News Staff
Members of the Juan de Fuca Soccer Association put their best foot forward with their hearts in the right place.
Players, coaches and families came together to gather 1,320 pairs of new socks to donate to the Western Communities Christmas Hamper program, which is organized through the Goldstream Food Bank.
Tracy Cessford, special events director for Juan de Fuca Soccer, said the total was even more impressive considering the socks were gathered in such a short period of time.
“It’s the first time we’ve done this kind of fundraiser,” he noted. The idea evolved from a similar suggestion by Nicole Blanchard, one of the mothers on his son’s team.
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“We made some calls and found out there’s a real need at the Goldstream Food Bank at this time of the year and we wanted to keep it local. It sounded like a good idea so we decided to give it a try.”
The only opportunity to get all of the approximately 1,300 players aged three to 17 together was on Sunday, Oct. 20 and Sunday, Oct. 27, because photos for the 120 teams were scheduled on those days. Cessford explained. “The kids did an absolutely amazing job in just two weeks.”
Karen Birtwistle, toy room co-ordinator for the Western Communities Christmas Hamper program, said she was extremely grateful for the donation.
“It’s great to have a selection of adult male, female, children’s and toddlers sizes,” she noted. “Everyone we deal with at this time of the year can use new socks. These will be put to great use. I can’t say enough about what these kids did.”
rick.stiebel@goldstreamgazette.com