April 14, 2017
League Update
It looks like things have finally started to pick up! We just passed the $12,000 mark, and with 5 weeks remaining we still have a ways to go in order to meet our goal of $175,000 raised for our kids in Atlanta!
Get creative with your fundraising and always remember the reason for the tournament. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with us if there’s anything we can provide to bolster your fundraising!
It looks like Chelsea was feeling the heat last week and decided to kick things into high gear, jumping all the way from the bottom to #4 in the leaderboard, tied with Juventus. Well done guys!
AC Milan remains at the top, having raised over $3,000 and counting. Liverpool and Barcelona are both trying to make a run for the top spot, with each raising more than $2,000 to date.
10 teams are now completely full, with several others nearing capacity. If you have friends or colleagues on the fence about playing, NOW is the time to sign up before it’s too late!
Arsenal, Dortmund, and Manchester United are still struggling, having raised a collective $0. We hope to see all teams in triple digits by next week!
Fundraising Tip
When people see tangible things their money supports, it’s easier for them to give. Take a look at the chart below and share it with your friends and network so they can see a small sample of how their money helps kids in the Atlanta area.
Player of the Week
We’re proud to announce this week’s Player of the Week, Leigh Jakes!
Leigh is one of our volunteer coaches, so she already has a special place in our hearts. But when she isn’t giving back through coaching, she’s killing it in the fundraising arena!
Leigh already crushed her goal of $125, having raised nearly $600 to date! She’s not showing any signs of slowing down either so we’re excited to see where she ends up.
Thank you Leigh and congratulations on being named this week’s Player of the Week!
Program update
We were honored to have the MLS Commissioner, Don Garber, and President of Atlanta United, Darren Eales, come visit us at Station Soccer this week.
We know The Soccer Don won’t soon forget his visit to Atlanta. In fact, he said he looks forward to seeing more of the “mini-pitches” throughout Atlanta! We couldn’t agree more.
April 7, 2017
League Update
The usual suspects – AC Milan, Barcelona, and Liverpool – remain atop the table, with AC Milan jumping from 3rd place to 1st, creating some distance between the others by raising a total of $2,682 and counting!
Chelsea and Tottenham may hold the top spots in the Premier League, but it seems they’re battling for last place in the ATL Champions League. In fact, 3/5 of the EPL teams haven’t raised a cent. C’mon guys! Are you really going to let Liverpool run away with it so early?
The clock is ticking, and we’re still far behind our target of raising $175,000 by May 21. You've stepped up in the past so I know you're up to the challenge again! Don’t forget to see if there’s a local supporters’ group for your team; they can likely help you reach a new audience to support your team’s overall fundraising.
If you need some motivation, check out our program update below on the recent Homeless Soccer Tournament we held at our Station Soccer field in the Five Points MARTA station. Asking friends to support your cause is made a bit easier when your fundraising benefits such great things.
Fundraising Tip
Approach business or corporate sponsors; your own employer might offer a match for charitable fundraising.
There’s nothing stopping you from approaching an employer or any other business for sponsorship. Many have budgets for charitable donations, and just need to be asked.
It’s worth finding out if your employer offers a “matching gift” for charitable fundraising, where the company matches any money raised by an employee. A number of large corporations in Atlanta do this (e.g. Home Depot) so be sure to ask your employer – what do you have to lose?!
If any company is prepared to make a donation of $500+, talk to us and we can put together a special package (tickets to event, signed jersey, add logo to website, etc). We’re also more than happy to complete any necessary paperwork or other levels of verification. Please bear in mind you can only have one sponsor represented on the front of your jersey.
Player of the Week
We’re proud to announce this week’s Player of the Week, Stephen Rumble!
Stephen more than doubled his original goal of $125, raising the bar to $300! It’s safe to say he blew that out of the water by raising a total of $800 and counting, more than 270% of his goal!
By earning this week’s top honor Stephen joins other greats, including his AC Milan captain Greg Gegner. With these two rocking the fundraising leaderboard, it’s no surprise AC Milan is in first place over the mighty Liverpool team.
If they’re going to maintain the lead, these two leaders might want to light a fire under the six players on their team who haven’t started raising money yet!
Congrats again, Stephen! We appreciate all you’ve done and continue to do to support Soccer in the Streets!
Program Update
Soccer in the Streets just hosted its first ever Homeless Soccer Tournament.
The event was part of Soccer in the Streets' Homeless Soccer Program, a continuous effort by the Atlanta-based non-profit to target one of the major social issues found in the metro area.
The Aspire Group was instrumental to Soccer in the Streets’ initiative to reach out and integrate young adults – currently without a home –with positive activities.
March 31, 2017
League Update
It’s finally official: ATL Champions League will take place at the home of Atlanta United - the Children’s Healthcare Training Ground in Marietta!
We’re so excited to continue working closely with Atlanta United and are honored to use their world class facility.
We’ve noticed an uptick in player registrations since the announcement, so if you’ve had any friends who are on the fence about playing, now is the time for them to sign up so they don’t miss out on this amazing event.
Note we have a fresh, new website so the ATL Champions League URL is slightly different: cl.soccerstreets.org
Barcelona continues to sit atop the leaderboard but Liverpool and AC Milan are close behind. We just heard that Terminus Legion is hosting watch parties to raise money for Atlanta United, so we expect to see them fighting for the top spot soon! If your team has a supporters group in the area, don’t forget to reach out to them to see if they can help with your team’s fundraising goal!
Fundraising Tip
Don’t be afraid to ask people directly, as direct requests are far more effective than impersonal mass mailings.
While it’s easy to post the link to your fundraising page on Facebook, and potentially have 500+ people view it, it’s also easy for those people to ignore it.
It’s much harder for someone to ignore you when you ask face to face, or over a phone call.
Along the same lines, while it’s quicker to send one mass email out to all your contacts with your well-worded request email, imagine how easy it would be for you to ignore a similar email from someone if you saw you were one of 100 recipients, or if you were a bcc. Imagine how much more attention you’d give it if it came as a direct email just to you.
As a general rule of thumb, in descending order here’s how the various methods stack up in terms of being effective:
- Direct face to face
- Phone call
- Direct email or text
- Social media post
Player of the Week
We’re proud to announce this week’s Player of the Week, Tiffany Morton!
Tiffany joined ATL Champions League at the end of last week, but has already proven to be a rockstar addition. Tiffany set herself a big fundraising goal, aiming to raise $500 for Soccer in the Streets before the tournament on May 21. We love to see people aim high and love it even more when they succeed!
And Tiffany did just that. In less than a week, Tiffany was able to meet her goal by raising $500 as she climbed the leaderboard all the way to the top spot!
Fantastic work, Tiffany! You’ve set a high bar for others and we’re lucky to have you in ATL Champions League 2017. Thanks for your incredible contribution and keep after it!
Program Update
We received this letter from one of the coaches we have in our after school program. It’s a great example of why we’re doing the work we do, and how the money you raise has a real impact on kids in our program.
Please check it out and feel free to share it with your network as you continue fundraising.
“Our first game was a good test for the Scott girls. We’ve worked a lot on passing and dribbling, but we’ve also focused on what it looks like to work as a team and how to resolve conflicts. I noticed some of the girls from the fall season step up and remind their teammates that the way we carry ourselves is not dependent on the way other teams or other people treat us. Not only are these girls becoming leaders, they’ve also elevated their game with some impressive combination play from time to time!
In terms of life lessons, one of the biggest things we’ve emphasized is not everything requires a reaction. Put your energy in things that will make you better, not those that bring out the worst in you. I’m always so proud when girls come up to me before practice and tell me about the ways they avoided conflict in school.
It’s also been a joy working with the middle and high school girls at Coretta Scott King. These girls are thirsty for knowledge and show a real interest in improving their soccer skills. I’ve even had girls ask to stay after practice to work on technique and different skills we introduced that day!
When working with these young women, I constantly tell them to remember the joy of getting something new “right.” Every day, every practice, every touch on the ball is a chance to improve and feel that same joy.”
March 24, 2017
Looks like we have a new team in the top spot!
In less than a week, Barcelona came out of nowhere to climb all the way up to 1st place! This is an incredible showing considering they just put a squad together this week. A tip of the hat to Dane Auensen, who is leading Barcelona this year, for starting off so strong. Let’s see if they can maintain this pace until the action starts on the field!
For the first time this year, Liverpool is not on top of the fundraising leaderboard. Will they reclaim their glory or will Barcelona run away with the title, marking the beginning of a new era?
Can’t wait to see where things stand after Monday’s big announcement!
League Update
Speaking of the big announcement… We wanted to make sure you heard it first before we go public next week.
This year, ATL Champions League will be played at the home of Atlanta United - the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Training Ground!
We’re stoked and honored to compete at a world class facility this year. This means that Atlanta United (the reigning champs) have home field advantage, so it’s going to be even more important to get your fans out there to cheer you on!
The announcement next week is sure to drive interest in this year’s tournament, so please be sure to nudge your friends to sign up if you want to play together before other people jump in and fill up the teams!
Fundraising tip
Try and establish a link with your teams supporters group, if one exists in Atlanta, as they may be prepared to help encourage their members to sponsor your team. In the past, some supporters’ groups have been able to get signed jerseys or swag from the club they support for a raffle. Try to combine a team fundraiser with a watch party when your club is playing on TV (halftime is a great time to hold raffles).
Player of the Week
We’re proud to announce this week’s player of the week, Dane Auensen!
Dane has only been at this for under a week, but is already sending a message to the rest of the league.
In a matter of days, Dane filled up his team’s roster with quality players (and fundraisers). In fact, they’re already in 1st place, knocking out the reigning fundraising champs, mighty Liverpool FC.
It’s yet to be seen if anyone can take the fundraising crown from Liverpool this year. But if Dane and his squad can keep up with this pace then it will be a very exciting dash to the finish. We can’t wait to see how things shake out.
Great job, Dane! And congratulations on being named this week’s Player of the Week!
March 17, 2017
What an incredible response!
We still have a long way to go to hit our goal of $175,000, but you’ve more than doubled the money we had last week. Let’s see if we can triple it by next Friday!
Liverpool remains at the top of the fundraising leaderboard but an early competition is breaking out between Juventus and Real Madrid.
It will be exciting to see where things stand next week after the forthcoming BIG announcement. We can’t say what the announcement is yet, but we know it’s going to motivate more people to sign up and get to work.
Fundraising Tip
Create your own event!
Our very own Coach Lauren decided to shake things up in her fundraising journey. Instead of simply asking people to support her efforts, she found a way to make it even more fun for everyone involved!
Lauren decided to create her own event to help raise money for ATL Champions League. Beerlympics 2017 is designed to raise awareness (and more importantly, money) for Soccer in the Streets, all while having fun and mingling with some other soccer fanatics.
The idea is simple, people donate to Lauren’s personal fundraising page in order to compete in her event. She even encourages fundraising by giving additional points to the top raiser (and deducting points from those who don’t contribute in advance). Then it’s time to partake in shenanigans involving adult beverages – playing games while raising money for a great cause, what’s better than that?!
Did you find a fun way to raise money? We’d love to hear it! Email Lee@soccerstreets.org to share your tip.
Player of the Week
We’re proud to announce this week’s Player of the Week, Lauren Desmond!
This marks the first time one of our fundraising tips came from a current player, and we thought that was significant enough to earn Lauren the Player of the Week honor!
When Lauren isn’t coming up with great ideas to benefit Soccer in the Streets, she’s the top dog driving our youth soccer programs as the Director of Coaching.
We hope Lauren has inspired you to have some fun and get creative with your fundraising. Let us know if it inspired you to take action and you could be featured in our next newsletter!
CONGRATS LAUREN!
Program Update
As a reminder of why we’re doing all of this, our Positive Choice school programs recently started back!
In fact, we just had the first day of games for the kids, so you know how excited they were to hit the pitch!
The Positive Choice programs are a great way to teach invaluable life lessons while having fun. The five pillars of our programs – Respect. Teamwork. Perseverance. Tolerance. Sportsmanship. – are infused into the soccer training on a regular basis, illustrated through soccer activities, “teachable moments” and related “stand-up” discussions.
It’s important to remember the reason we’re competing on and off the pitch, from raising money to scoring goals. We’re so thankful to have your support and dedication. Now let’s keep after it!
March 10, 2017
The news is out!
ATL Champions League 2017 is underway, and already we have 5 teams that are filled up with more nearly there.
Please keep spreading the word as we'd like to close it out in the next few weeks.
Fundraising Update
Thanks to everyone who has been helping us reach out fundraising goal this year. It's important we don't forget why we're doing all of this: for the kids!
We're far behind our goal of $175,000, with only $900 committed thus far, so let's get after it! If you're unsure of where to start, check out the Fundraising Help section in your online player account.
Fundraising Tip
There will always be people you meet while you’re out who will offer to “sponsor you when I get to a computer”. But once you’re out of sight, you’re out of mind.
TIP: Have the link to your sponsorship page saved as a favorite on your phone so you can easily access it.
If someone offers to sponsor you, you can just hand them your phone and they can make their donation while they're with you. Or failing that, you can text them the link to your page.
Check your fundraising page for updates and be sure to follow up with people individually to give that extra nudge of encouragement!
Player of the Week
We are proud to announce this week’s player of the week, Greg Gegner!
Greg joined us for the first time last year, but he certainly didn't perform like a rookie! In his first ATL Champions League appearance, Greg raised over $2,000!
We’re excited to see what he can do this year after setting such a high bar his first time.
This year Greg has taken it to another level for us. He decided to step up and captain the AC Milan team, and he is already stacking it with talent.
Off the field, Greg is a proud family man. He and his wife, Telleen, have a beautiful 7 month old daughter. We're so grateful that Greg makes time in his busy schedule for all that he does for us.
Thank you, Greg! We’re lucky to have your support and can’t wait to see your team in action this May!
March 3, 2017
Player of the Week
Although we haven’t even hit the pitch yet, one player has already risen to the top of our ATL Champions League!
We’re proud to announce this week’s player of the week, Joseph Fitton!
Joseph is currently sitting atop the leaderboard as a result of his early fundraising lead. At 22 years old Joseph is a veteran of our events, competing with us for the first time five years ago. Now, he’s looking to take it to the next level on and off the field!
When he isn’t raising awareness (and money) to help provide opportunities for kids in the Atlanta area, Joseph is playing soccer and finishing school at Georgia College & State University. He’ll graduate this semester with a degree in Business Management, so we look forward to his return to Atlanta where he’ll continue supporting his Liverpool teammates while providing great opportunities for kids across the city.
Thank you Joseph for all you’ve done and continue to do to support Soccer in the Streets!
Fundraising Update
Wow, the response to this year’s ATL Champions League launch has been incredible! We already have 4 teams that are completely full, and two more that only have a couple of spots left so be sure to nudge your friends to sign up quickly if they want to join the fun this year!
There's still time to sign up to play in ATL Champions League 2017!
And it’s so great to see the fundraising competition already underway! Sitting in first place with the most money raised to date (again...) is Liverpool. But Bayern Munich is right behind them, and Real Madrid is in 3rd place, vying to close the gap!
Is the fundraising meter a sign of things to come? If so, Liverpool will claim their 7th fundraising title in as many years.
Will someone step up and mount a serious challenge to them this year?!
Don’t delay any longer if you want to play in this year’s ATL Champions League – act now to guarantee your spot in the League and claim your team before someone else does!
Atlanta United Season Opener
Soccer in the Streets is proud to support and partner with Atlanta United!
Atlanta United kicked off their season at Bobby Dodd Stadium on Sunday at 7:30 PM.
Although we didn't get the result we wanted, we were proud to be out there showing our support all afternoon leading up to the game.
Be sure to follow Soccer in the Streets on Facebook to find out about upcoming events!