This season's TeamShop Challenge has come to a close and we couldn't be more impressed with our teams on FlipGive! This year, we switched things up a little bit and had campaigns compete with each other within athletic and non-profit categories. Every single team shopped till they dropped, and then some. We caught up with this year's winners to see what they plan to do with their hard earned $1000 prize.
Baseball Category Winner: CNLL Fall AA Pirates
This is the Pirates' first year playing kid pitch baseball, and they couldn't be more excited. "The kids are doing a fabulous job during this transition", says coach Michael Kelley. "They're funny, tough, and work hard to be the best players they can be." This team rallied their community by sending out emails with their eGift card picks. The Pirates' are so excited to be the $1000 dollar winner in the baseball category!
Basketball category winner: Lancaster AAU Basketball
The Lancaster AAU basketball team is thrilled to be our basketball category winner! This team plans to use their winnings to help cover rising gym costs, tournament fees, and equipment costs so every player has a chance to get in the game.
Cheerleading category winner: Evolution Cheer
The Evolution Cheer squad has been together for the past three years, and in case you can't already tell, they're full of energy. "We are more than a team", says Michelle Rodriguez, the leader of their campaign page who has raised a whopping $3000 with FlipGive. "Our gym is more about relationships and family than cheering, which is what makes our team strong." To the Evolution Cheer squad, everyone from team members to coaches, to parents is considered extended family. The squad has raised over $6000 dollars so far and credits their success to always encouraging their friends and family to get involved. Their $1000 prize will help subsidize the cost of their team competing in nationals.
Football category winner: Englewood Jr. Raiders
This unique football team of 3rd through 8th-grade players work hard to maintain a high level of sportsmanship while encouraging each other to become better student-athletes. "For us this was a great opportunity to earn money for the team and also get great deals on the things we need", said Denelle Asoro. Their $1000 prize will be put toward their team's year-end banquet, celebrating how hard this team has worked over the course of this season.
Ice Hockey category winner: EMC 2008
According to their coach, "these boys have come from all over the county and really come together as a team in a short period of time". What really got them going was engaging the parents on their team. They loved the idea of being able to shop for things they already needed, and it was really a huge team effort. This team will use their $1000 to help pay for ice time and other costs this coming season.
Soccer category winner: Cumberland Cobras Academy BU13
The Cumberland Cobras have been playing soccer together for over 6 years. The team is like family, and have worked hard to build their skills in order to represent Canada in a Czach Republic tournament in May of 2018. "The competition was amazing for us", says Eve-Marie, a parent on the team. "It was amazing to be able to fundraiser without costing our supporters money or begging for donations. We are so excited, thank you so much for this opportunity!"
Softball category winner: FUNTASTICS 2018
The Funtastics are a group of co-workers who love the game of softball. They plan to use their prize money to offset the fees associated with playing the game they love.
Other sports category winner: Zen/Union
The Zen Ultimate Frisbee team is a passionate mix of men and women who travel around Canada playing the sport they love. When it came time to raise money for their team, these guys did not play around; "We made little flyers, almost like large business cards explaining everything and linking to our page, it was a great tool for people to get on board with our campaign", says team member Darrel Nantais. "Our experience with FlipGive was amazing, and we can't wait to use our winnings to help us get to the CUC competition is Saskatoon."
School and education category winner: Valley Torah Wolfpack
Valley Torah High School has had to overcome a lot of obstacles to keep their players in the game. Without athletic facilities, the teams at their school have to rent gym space, and practices often run late into the evening. Regardless of these obstacles, their community came together to help them shop during the TeamShop Challenge. The team set goals and worked together to win in their category, and will be using their prize money to fund more gym time for their athletic teams.
Nonprofit and community category: Wood Buffalo Youth Travel Association
The Wood Buffalo Travel Association are a group of youths and young adults travelling the world. The non-profit was created to expose the youth of For Mcmurray to as many cultures and experiences as they can. According to Melita Ellsworth, an organizer of these trips, "there is nothing like watching their faces light up when they realize that where we just arrived is a place they learned about in school." The Associations $1000 prize will help subsidize their upcoming trip to New Zealand, Australia, and Hawaii!
The team at FlipGive are so proud of our winners! To create your own FlipGive campaign, and get updates on our next challenge, click here to get started.
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