SEAFORD, Del. - The Western Sussex Youth Soccer Association is asking for help from the community. Over the weekend, a fire burned the club’s equipment shed to the ground, resulting in the total loss of equipment.
The shed is located on the Western Sussex Boys and Girls club property.
"We have nothing but whatever the coaches have in possession. Soccer balls, cones,” said volunteer coach, Jessica Carino.
The fire was reported at around 1 a.m. on October 17th by workers from the nearby FedEx building. The Delaware State Fire Marshal says the cause was an accidental electrical malfunction. The damage is estimated to cost $50,000.
The organization’s president, Diana Dixon tells WRDE they calculated the replacement value of all the equipment that was lost in the fire, and it came out to $26,737.99.
"You accumulate things, it's been a course of 10 years. Every season you try to improve yourself and get more things, and you just don't realize how much you have until you sit down and try to list it all,” said Dixon.
Dixon started a GoFundMe to replace the equipment and other contents of the shed, so that the program can continue.
"Of course when all the players and parents got there, they were just completely devastated by the sight of it,” she said.
The soccer club also gives back to the youth by offering community service hours for high school students and training kids to become coaches and certified referees.
"I found in soccer or in any sport you find a lot of discipline, you find commitment, you find teamwork. And that usually helps young athletes in the future to stray away from bad decisions and from getting involved with the wrong crowd,” said Carino.
And Carino asks, "if [the community] can find it in their hearts to give, please give.”
To donate to Western Sussex Youth Soccer Association’s GoFundMe, click here. Checks can also be sent to WSYSA PO Box 1762 Seaford, DE 19973. With three weeks left in the season, Dixon also says donations in the form of cash, check, or credit card can be brought to the concessions stand near the goal post and picnic tables on the access road.