Menlo Atherton 11U Vikings going to Florida!

My name is Erika Atkins current Vice President of the Menlo Atherton Pop Warner Vikings association - a 501(c)3 organization focused on developing leaders through the sport of football.

I am fundraising for our 11U team to travel to Florida to compete on the National level.

On November 18th, our 11U Vikings team secured a win at the D2 Regional Championship game to take them to compete at the 76th Pop Warner National Championships, at the Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida!

Three and a half months ago, on August 1st, these young individuals came together to compete as an 11U team on the Vikings, hoping they could conquer another winning season, and that they did. With 19 of them having been returners from that last 2022 season (or from prior seasons), the other 15 players had never met before and were brand new to the sport or new to the Vikings. These young players worked hard together, and even when adversity hit, they managed to go 7-1 in the regular season.

These young individuals have grown to be such incredible football players, but most importantly, they have melted together to form such a tight-knit bond that they love to be around each other any chance they can. Most of these players don't even go to school together because our program serves kids from the entire peninsula, and despite that, they manage to love one another and keep connected. That is one thing that football helps to bridge the gap on, and so seldom does football get the kudos this sport deserves.

So today, I would like to extend an 'ask' to our community far and wide to help some of our players and coaches achieve what they deserve the most, and that is to represent our Region in Division 2 Football at the National Level at the Pop Warner Championship games in Florida from 12/1-12/9. We have half of our coaching staff without a child in the program, and they are dedicating their time to coaching our children in our community. We also have a few players who need that extra help, and if we could provide that for them, it would mean so much.

We truly appreciate your help – "Every day is an opportunity disguised as a challenge." Let's make this happen for our future leaders….Go Vikings!!!!