On June 21st Shootout for Soldiers Boston, the third event in the 2019 season, kicked off at UMass Lowell.
In its fifth year, SFS Boston almost doubled their fundraising efforts from 2018 bringing in a total of $41,537.
Local charity partners Operation Delta Dog and Home Base Veteran and Family Care will receive a portion of the fundraising from the event. Operation Delta Dog aims “to rescue shelter dogs and train them to work as service dogs for disabled veterans.” Home Base boasts a mission “to heal the invisible wounds for Veterans, Service Members and their Families through world-class clinical care, wellness, education and research.”
Many familiar faces took to the field including Seaman Pugh who returned for his fifth year of Shootout for Soldiers Boston, but his first year since joining the Navy.
“The people at Shootout [for Soldiers] are kind of what led me to deciding to join the military,” said Seaman Pugh. “They’re now my brothers and sisters here in the United States Military.”
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“Every year I’m asked what makes Boston different and each year I come to the same conclusion – it’s the people,” said SFS Boston Co-Organizer, Rachel Rennie. “We wouldn’t be able to pull this event off without the people of Boston, whether it’s Foss with her great idea with the stringing, UMass Lowell who has never told us no, and ensures we have everything we need from water to laundry, or the volunteers we see every year who show up with a smile on their face ready to help. The other part of what makes Boston special, is our group of veterans, I see each of them once a year but each year it’s like no time has passed. The vets show up early with big smiles on their faces excited to take the field, and suddenly the craziness of the months leading up to event is gone, I’m reminded again why we do what we do.”
The Top Fundraising Team, AWLC, raised a total of $5,767. The team received custom Downstream x Shootout for Soldiers drawstring backpacks as a small reward for their outstanding fundraising efforts.
Contributing to the Top Fundraising Team was our Top Fundraiser, John Hauck. Hauck raised nearly $2,000 making him the recipient of a custom Cascade Maverik x Shootout for Soldiers helmet.
As for the “Keep Your Jerseys” contest, our SFS Boston winner was returning team Angry Bear Lacrosse (13U) who raised $5,342.
“I am thankful for the veterans, our volunteers, and all the players, their families and friends,” said SFS Boston Co-Organizer David Williams. “Every player and parent that I spoke to (and I spoke to a lot of them), said that they had a great time and want to come back again next year. I can’t think of better praise for this year’s Boston event.”
With the help of our Top Fundraisers and all fundraising efforts by everyone involved, we were able to have a successful fifth year in Boston. We can’t wait to see what 2020 will bring!
