As many parents of youth athletes know, fundraising for our children’s sporting careers is not always easy.

Members of the Canyon Panther Soccer Academy

We constantly find ourselves pushing candy and calendars and raffle tickets on to our family and friends. We work snack bars at tournaments and during league games to raise funds as well. It’s all a labor of love.

That sort of fundraising goes one direction – to the kids. Really that’s what matters the most. It’s not often, though, that we find a fundraising opportunity that not only benefits the community but also sends a strong, positive message to our children.

When I first learned about Recycle.Goal. I honestly thought it was too good to be true. All the teams had to do was recycle? And by participating they received gift cards to Sports Authority? After speaking with a program representative, I was sold.

Our players started recycling immediately. Motivated by the grand prize of a trip to a LA Galaxy event, they found opportunities to recycle everywhere from their homes and neighborhoods to the field. From a parent’s perspective, it was easy. In the end, our players were so proud to have recycled more than 200 pounds of material and kept their environment a little cleaner.

Thank you to all the partners – American Chemistry Council, Sports Authority, LA Galaxy and Keep California Beautiful. Canyon PSA was proud to be part of the inaugural Recycle.Goal. competition.

The following is a guest post by Kristen Smith, Fundraising Manager of the Canyon Panther Soccer Academy.