West Chester Family Produces Special Soccer Saturday
(Contributed by Lannie Hulnick)
The Hulnick family are huge soccer fans! Hannah has been playing with FC Delco for over 3 years and we are Philadelphia Union season ticket holders. It was an easy choice for Andrew & Hannah to support the Chester Upland Youth Soccer program as part of their Bnai Mitzvah project. It is amazing what this organization does for the traditionally underserved, suburban Philadelphia communities of Chester, Upland and Eddystone.
In November, we met with Jeannine Fallon Anckaitis to discuss this opportunity and all the ways the Hulnick family could get involved. Jeannine is incredible to work with! Her passion and energy are contagious and we were very excited for all we were going to be able to participate in.
Our project started by adopting a family for Chrstmas. Along with another family from our synagogue we were able to fill a holiday wish list for 3 children.
In January we began a campaign to raise money and collect snacks for the Soccer Saturday program that we planned to take place on Saturday, April 30. Andrew & Hannah raised almost $3800 and collected a ton of snacks to be used the day of the event and beyond for CUYS.
Saturday, April 30th was a huge success! Over 30 kids attended with their families. The weather was perfect, the coaches and mentors were amazing and the families all had a blast. With the money raised we were able to provide lunch from wawa for everyone. We were also able to pack special goodie bags for all the kids to take home.
When asked to reflect on the day, Hannah said “it felt good to be able to help people by providing them an opportunity to come together and have a great time as a family.”
Andrew said he was “thrilled to have raised enough money to provide lunch and the giveaway bags full of snacks and games for everyone!”
Both Hannah and Andrew agreed that having the Philadelphia Union come and set up games and prizes was a highlight for everyone. They also thought it was very special to get to share this day with their aunt, cousin, grandparents & closest friends.
Thank you to CUYS Board member Harry Ischiropoulos, coaches Titus & Chris & site director Kelly for working with us the day of the event.
A very special thank you to Jeannine for all you do for the Chester Upland Youth Soccer program. We look forward to helping out again soon!
