Janice Dodd’s family, including her 12-year-old son Christian, received an early Christmas surprise that highlighted holiday spirit.
On Dec. 18, the family learned through team assistant coach Shannon Danku that Rainer Hummel of Hummel Properties Inc. had donated around $1,910 to them. The donation, combined with the family’s own funds of $1,600, covers Christian’s registration fees for the upcoming soccer season.
Christian plays for the Niagara Falls Football Club under-13 competitive team. Janice has been seeking sponsorships to help cover costs for her son and his teammates since December.
Hummel said he responded after reading an article published in The Lake Report about her sponsorship efforts.
“Our family has been supporting little kids’ soccer in Niagara-on-the-Lake for decades,” he said, adding it was “not complicated” to decide whether or not to support the Dodd family.
Youth soccer is a cause that Hummel said is difficult for the organizations to find funding for, which is a big reason they tend to support it.
Christian and his mother said they were thrilled by the news.
“I felt awesome,” said Christian. “I felt very grateful this is happening.”
Competitive sports can cost families thousands of dollars, and Janice said she was hoping to ease that amount for her family and others on the team.
Soon after the article was published, Danku told her it was already generating interest and advised her to “stay tuned.” A few days later, Danku said a potential donor wanted to help. That donor was Hummel.
“(It’s) such a relief for us,” said Janice. “We promise our kids, ‘Don’t worry about anything, just do their best.’ This makes us keep(ing) our promise.”
Janice said her goal after the article was published was to continue collecting sponsorships for the rest of the team. She said she had already secured support from Fine Estates and TASC Tulip Farms and hopes to attract more sponsors.
“I know that some of the team members, they are less fortunate,” she said. “Anything that comes together will help.”
She said she hopes to continue sponsorship efforts for future seasons as well.
Janice said she has spoken with Hummel since receiving the donation. She said he told her he has been involved in other sponsorship initiatives and that the article motivated him to help give Christian an opportunity to play sports, something he did not have growing up.
She said she hopes Hummel can attend one of Christian’s games in the Niagara region this summer. Hummel echoed this to The Lake Report.
Christian said having his fees covered allows him to focus on soccer.
“I feel a lot more focused on what the goal is,” he said.
Christian is currently playing pre-season games with Niagara Falls Football Club. The league’s regular season begins in May. He said he is enjoying spending time with his teammates.
Further sponsorship inquiries can be directed to the team’s coach, Shannon Danku, at coachshannondanku@outlook.com.
