The Boston Bengals will play this fall in spite of everything, with the Pop Warner soccer program catching a season-saving donation from automotive seller and part-time musician and philanthropist Ernie Boch Jr.
Boch dedicated $15,000 to rescue the upcoming season after studying an article in Sunday’s Herald about how unsanitary situations at Roxbury’s Clifford Park had led Domingos DaRosa to begin dismantling his program.
“It was not even a question because of the way it was written,” Boch advised the Herald, “and the situation – it’s just so difficult. I just talked with Domingos, the coach, and the guy is a saint.”
DaRosa set a fundraising purpose of $15,000 on a GoFundMe he organized Friday to exchange previous tools. More than $1,000 had been raised hours after Sunday’s article revealed, rising the collected quantity to over $1,900, however Boch mentioned he needed to care for all of it.
The $15,000 donation, DaRosa advised the Herald, will go towards extra than simply buying new tools. It may even cowl registration, operation and insurance coverage bills, he mentioned.
“My day just got brighter,” he mentioned. “We will be able to start the season off on a positive foot. Now, it’s just a matter of getting the city to keep the park clean.”
As he oversaw a dozen youngsters collaborating in drills on Saturday, DaRosa mentioned it appeared seemingly his gamers, ages 3 to fifteen, must discover one other alternative some other place when the season formally begins Aug. 1. Games start the second week of September.
Needles, human feces and different trash litter the 8-acre park, just a few blocks from Mass and Cass, the place folks roam the streets, visibly shopping for, promoting and utilizing medicine. DaRosa mentioned the spillover from Mass and Cass has led to a pointy decline in curiosity from gamers and fogeys to take part in this system through the years.
Around 300 youngsters performed in this system when DaRosa acquired first concerned about 25 years in the past, with that quantity dropping to roughly 55 final 12 months. With fewer gamers, it’s been a problem to cowl the $4,000 to function the league yearly, plus one other $8,000 in referee charges, he mentioned.
Boch is acquainted with the Clifford Park space although he mentioned he’s by no means actually hung across the neighborhood, however he acknowledged “it needs help.” He plans to chop a examine as quickly as potential and attend a recreation within the fall.
“The larger problem should be handled by the governor, the mayor, the City Council,” Boch mentioned. “This is a community situation, and it should be going to the legislature, the people they voted in to take care of the people of the towns and the cities. Private money can only go so far.”
The state of affairs has caught the eye of City Council President Ed Flynn, who stopped by Saturday’s observe to let DaRosa know he’d wish to recruit youngsters from the neighborhoods he represents, Chinatown, South End and South Boston.
“The residents of Boston are fortunate to have generous friends like Ernie Boch and the Boch family,” Flynn mentioned on Sunday. The Boch household supplied sources in order that youth sports activities can proceed in Roxbury, Dorchester and the South End. Boston works greatest once we work collectively.”
Boch’s donation, DaRosa mentioned, will enable this system to fund extra scholarships for youngsters from low-income households. Registration prices $150 per participant, which he mentioned is low in comparison with different space applications, however youngsters who come from single-income households generally wrestle to take part because of the expense.
“Now that you have someone like Ernie Boch getting involved, that’s going to spark conversations,” DaRosa mentioned. “His influence can influence the people in power to actually take the steps forward to help clean up the area and bring in some safety measures.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com”