November 15, 2019
Former Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski showed up at the Millville Midget Football team's most recent game Thursday evening, which would've been news enough down in Eagles-crazed South Jersey.
But the real headline was what Jaworski brought with him: a check for $5,000, to help the team reach Los Angeles for a football tournament organized by Snoop Dogg:
Our Millville Thunderbolts Youth Football Team is ready to go to California and play @SnoopLeague!! 🏈🏈🏈
— Ron Jaworski (@JawsCEOQB) November 15, 2019
Thanks to @SnoopDogg @JawsYouthPlay @MillvilleHS pic.twitter.com/zEqEjczQw1
The team, known as the Millville Thunder, is trying to raise the total $20,000 needed to make the trip via a GoFundMe campaign, which on its own has raised nearly $6,000 as of Friday afternoon. The biggest online donation came from Snoop Dogg himself, who chipped in $2,500.
The Thunder need to reach their fundraising goal to account for airfare, housing, food, and transportation, according to the GoFundMe campaign page, which you can check out here.
This year's Thunder are made up of 37 boys, aged 10 and 11, and they've had a rough last year and a half. In 2018, a former coach was shot and killed in a parking lot while the team practiced, according to the Vineland Daily Journal. Jaworski heard about what'd happened, he said, and wanted to reach out to the team to talk football, and to connect. Then, last week, he learned about the fundraising effort.
Jaworski harnessed the power (and resources) of his Jaws Youth Playbook organization, according to the Journal, and pooled together the $5,000 to help the team inch closer to the $20,000 goal:
"'This is what we do,' Jaworski, whose wife Liz joined him, told the Daily Journal. 'We help kids. This is a perfect opportunity to help these young men get to California and play football, and do what they want to do, and represent our community.'"
The Thunder find out in mid-December who their first tournament opponent will be. According to the Snoop Youth Football League's website, each team is guaranteed at least two games. With Jaws' support behind them, perhaps the Thunder will play even more.
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