It's a Saturday evening in 2026. The USMNT captain lifts up the World Cup trophy for the host nation. The newly built RFK Stadium is packed to the rafters, and the American Outlaws go wild. A relatively unknown 18 year old has just scored a hat-trick in the final against Scotland to win the trophy...
Ok ok, I may have been dreaming a bit. There's no way Scotland ever gets to the WC final. Anyway - some parts of this story may well happen in the future. That 18 year old phenom would be just a 6 year old kid today. A kid that could be sitting at school in Camden, New Jersey while you read this. However as we all know, Camden isn't the wealthiest of neighborhoods. Kids generally can't afford professional coaching and "pay-to-play" soccer teams or any of the other benefits that kids need to get into the USMNT. The talent could still be there - so the only real hope for this 6 year old Camden kid is Camden Youth Soccer Club (CYSC).
As you all probably have read by now, CYSC is a volunteer organization that aims to bring the beautiful game to those that can't afford to attend any pay-to-play club. To help cover costs of providing this opportunity to the children (it's amazing how quickly water, paint, food, medals, and equipment costs add up) - the club relies on donations from companies and individuals. One fun way to do this is to have fundraising events. The first fundraiser of 2014 will be the 3rd Annual Darts Tournament held at the Victor Pub, on Saturday March 1st from 7.30pm until whenever people get tired. For just a $10 entry fee, you play minimum 4 games in the darts tournament . On the same night we are trying out another way of fundraising - a beef and beer. For the low price of $20 if you RSVP or $25 at the door you can enjoy Roast Beef, Ziti and Chicken Wings from a buffet - also house wine, beer (Yuengling) and soda. The beef and beer will last for around 2 1/2 hours. Whether you want to take part in the darts tournament (you don't have to take part in the darts tournament to help out), enjoy the beef and beer - or just come along to hang out with the CYSC people (maybe entering a raffle) - every penny raised helps the club.
We hope that we will see many old friends there - or even make some new friends.
If for whatever reason you can't make it to the fundraising event, but would still like to help out - there are 2 ways you can do this.
1) You can donate a prize for the raffle.
2) You can donate money either via paypal (http://www.cysc.us/support.html ) or by sending a check to one of the CYSC board members. CYSC is a 501(c)3 organisation, and therefore all donations are write-off able.
If you have any questions - or require more information - feel free to contact us at cysc.dartstournament@gmail.com or leave a message in the comments section.
Thanks for thinking of our kids, and you never know, that day in 2026 may happen - and if it is a CYSC alumni, you can say you helped out.