While the volleyball team at Paradise Adventist Academy should have been celebrating making it to the state semifinals, some of the players were coping with losing everything in the devastating wildfires that have destroyed the Northern California city of #Paradise.
“There were two or three (girls) that didn’t have anything, they lost everything in the fire,” Paradise volleyball coach Jason Eyer told @CNN. “And four or five more didn’t have their jersey or their shoes. More than half of the team lost something they needed for that night.”
Despite not having uniforms, the girls still wanted to play their match against #ForestLakeChristianSchool because it would bring the community together during a tragedy.
The team and its fans agreed to make the 80-mile trip to #Auburn, California, for the game. Some of the players were planning to play in T-shirts with their numbers written on them with Sharpie, but when they got to Forest Lake Christian, they were surprised by the opposing team with brand new jerseys, knee pads, food and thousands of dollars in donations.
When he learned that Paradise would still be coming to play, Forest Lake Christian Athletic Director LaRon Gordon sprung into action. He set up a meeting with school administrators to see what they could do to help.
First, they were able to waive the fans’ entrance fee for the game, then they asked everyone they knew for donations.
“We got out and called our friends, community, got on social media,” Gordon said. “And we set up three little bins outside the school (for donations).”
By the next day, the bins were overflowing with donations.
“The whole front of the school was jam-packed full of donations,” he said. “You couldn’t even walk into the school from the front. You can’t imagine it.”
The night before the game, Gordon had another idea. He called a close friend and located a company that agreed to work overnight to make jerseys for the Paradise team.
The Paradise team said they saw the brand new uniforms and were overwhelmed by the love and support.
Although Paradise ended up losing the match, they didn’t go home empty-handed.
“At the end of the match they handed every girl on the team an envelope of $300 worth of gift cards for places for them to buy clothes,” Eyer said. “And they presented me with a box of gift cards and cash with over $10,000 for the families at the school.”
It’s so touching to see a community be so giving in someone else’s time of need!
TSR STAFF: Christina C! @cdelafresh
