Empower Layla’s Speech and Debate to Nationals

Hi, my name is Layla Khoury, and thank you for taking the time to read my story. As you may have seen on the news, our former Speech and Debate coach has been accused of committing acts of theft and not paying invoices totally over $16,000. As you can imagine, this has put an incredible strain on our teams financial standing. 

 All year, we have fundraised and paid for tournaments understanding that the money we raised would be used to cover the cost of nationals as has been custom for our team over the last few years. Now, we have been informed that the team account has no funds left due to these acts of theft, and the school has not approved our request for funding; therefore, placing a bill of roughly $14,000 on our team for nationals. With 8 students attending the tournament, we are each being asked to pay $1,750 for this tournament. 

 Despite our efforts throughout the year to raise funds, we have been stuck with this large bill that our families cannot pay. We have managed to build a strong team showing at nationals despite the obstacles, including two freshmen students who are qualifying to the tournament for the first time, as well as a senior who is the first person at our school to qualify to Nationals all four years and is expected to make it to the final round. 

 Any funds that you donate will be given directly to the students competing at nationals to help them cover the cost of the tournament that has been billed to them. We are all incredible grateful for your support, as this money will provide a great degree of peace of mind for our competitors who have already been placed in an unfair and stressful position all year. 

 Every penny truly counts, and we would be so thankful for any donation you are willing to make. If you cannot contribute a donation at this time, I would appreciate if you shared this link with your friends and family. Thank you.