 March 25, 2010 -
Cheer Jamz Fierce
By Lisa Gayle Grayson
Getting a team to the Cheerleading and Dance Worlds not only means hitting the gym and working hard but also hitting the streets.
Of the more than 300 programs that were awarded bids to the 2010 Worlds, only 57 earned full paid bids and 67 received partial paid berths. That means the remaining two-thirds of the attendees to the Wide World of Sports in Orlando must come up with other ways to finance their trips.
One of the teams competing this year who received an at-large bid then turned to others to help finance its opportunity at Worlds was Fierce from Cheer Jamz All-Star. The Small Senior Limited Co-ed team from Poughkeepsie, NY, found 100 sponsors to provide the necessary backing to make the cheerleaders� travels possible.
�They went to banks, local businesses like barbershops, gas stations, a lot of delis around there, restaurants, everything,� Fierce�s coach James Kendrick said. �They went door to door.�
Generating enough funds for each team member and coach can be as much work and as much of a challenge as putting together and fine tuning a top-notch routine they showcase on the competition floor.
Selling candy bars and cookie dough just does not seem to cut it these days. And certainly not with the economy hitting home with so many people.
In the case of Fierce, every company or individual who donated is listed in one of the three columns printed on the back of this year�s team T-shirt. Kendrick said, a minimum donation of $50 was required to reserve a spot on the tees and some of these sponsors elected to receive a T-shirt in exchange for their contribution.
According to Karen Stellwag, a team mother and one served as a fundraising coordinator, the goal was for each cheerleader to collect $1,000 in donations. That amount was estimated to cover the $800 airfare and hotel costs plus any spending money they might need while in Orlando.
Kendrick said a member of this year�s team, Richard Moore, scored all of his funds in one weekend. Another cheerleader received the largest individual contribution of $500 from annual donor Dick�s Concrete Company.
Fierce may not have received its bid until February of this year, but the program had the goal to return to Worlds this season. Last year it did not receive a bid until late March which allotted them only six weeks to come up with the funds. Thinking ahead to this season, Fierce began fundraising efforts last summer.
For this group, fundraising is just part of the game. The all-star cheerleaders also participate in coin drops at airports and grocery stores to pay for their warm-ups, practice and competition uniforms.
�It�s hard but it�s exciting every time it�s cha-ching, cha-ching and your count is going up,� Stellwag said.
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