St. Francis Rallies for North State Fire Victims

St. Francis Water Polo Rallies Donation Effort for Fire Victims

 The St. Francis water polo program played a tournament in Napa last Saturday and will return for another at the end of the month. When the team, coaches and parents heard about the devastation caused by the recent fires in Northern California, they wanted to help.

“Our parents started the conversation and we just ran with it,” said Head Coach Heather Moody. “The girls got behind it and shared on social media, making sure the word got out. We were just there in Napa and it hit home how quickly things can change. We have an amazing group of people in our program.”

With less than two days promotion, the team rallied donation efforts at their home game Thursday night against Woodcreek. They raised over $1600 in donations and gift cards and left the match with five trucks full of everything from diapers to Teddy Bears.

The drive included fans at both games and targeted the local water polo programs in the area to help.

“The support from the other high schools was great and they really stepped in and gave big donations,” said Moody. “It was a huge success.”

In addition to the contributions from the St. Francis families, the collection efforts also included items donated from several high schools and groups: El Camino, Rio Americano, Bella Vista, Woodcreek Aquatics, Oak Ridge, Jesuit, Christian Brothers and Stats Swimming.

“We have a small water polo community and we can reach out and have a huge impact,” said Moody. ‘We collected everything from gift cards to diapers to water and blankets. We wanted to help in any way we could.”

The money raised will go to families from the Vintage and Justin Siena water polo teams affected by the fires, while the collected items and supplies were dropped off to Sacramento Fire Station 106 that is driving items to the affected areas and shelters.

The St. Francis team added a St. Francis touch, leaving individual handwritten notes to the victims in the donated items that will hopefully provide a smile when received.