Any parent of an athlete knows that club sports can get expensive. Jersey costs, tournaments, equipment, and all the Gatorade and laundry detergent that can fit into the shopping cart can put stress on finances.
The travel baseball team, the Dawson Anglers understand that need as much as any team and schedule multiple fundraisers throughout the season to fund the team’s activities and travels. This year, the Anglers had to cancel their poker tournament and fishing tournament due to COVID-19 concerns, but that hasn’t stopped the team from thinking of creative ways to earn money.
Jenny Tangel and Shannon Bennett, moms of members of the Anglers, have been able to convince the team to trade away their summer mornings to help them sell COVID-19 masks to fundraise for the summer season.
The process of making masks is simple. Tangel buys the masks made of t-shirt material online and the boys cut the Dawson County Tigers and Lumpkin County Indians logos from vinyl material. Once they stencil details onto the logo, center it on the mask, press down with a heater, the mask is ready to go out in the field.
“I’m glad that we get to do this to be able to play this summer,” Anglers team member Parker Johnson said. “It’s fun to get to do this with your friends.”
Already, the team has sold 200 masks to people in the community. And at $8 a piece, Tangel said that 100 masks can pay for the entire team to play a tournament.
As the team works to complete a backlog of about 100 orders they’ve received, members say they hope to continue to receive orders throughout the next months, as their product gains exposure in the community.
After learning that all Walmart and Kroger stores are starting to require face masks, Tangel said she is working to get clearance for the team to sell masks outside the stores.
“The boys have been great about coming to help out,” Tangel said. “We all wanted the season to continue and hopefully these masks can keep the ball rolling.”
Check out ‘Dawson Anglers 13u Baseball’ on Facebook for more information about purchasing a mask and supporting the team.