City SC Carlsbad hosted the 10th annual Giving Back Friendlies event on January 6, 2024 raising a total of $10,705 for this year’s beneficiary, Katie’s Save.
The Friendlies are City SC’s biggest annual community fundraiser. Every year, the club picks a cause or organization to support and dedicates a weekend of friendly games to raising funds for the chosen recipient. Since its inception in 2014, the Giving Back Friendlies have raised over $122,000 for a wide variety of worthy causes, ranging from local families in need to organizations doing life changing and in some instances, life saving work in the community.
This year’s beneficiary, Katie’s Save, was founded by the parents of Katie Meyer. Katie was the goalkeeper on the National Championship winning Stanford University women’s soccer team before she died by suicide in 2022. The mission is Katie’s Save is to support, protect and save students and their families from the devastation of preventable tragedies. Katie’s Save is committed to seeking systemic changes at colleges and universities to protect the well-being of students and ensure that trusted support and guidance is offered and accessible.
“We’ve had the privilege of supporting so many worthy causes over the years through the Giving Back Friendlies, but this is our first time supporting a mental health initiative,” said City SC Club Manager, Natalie Eckerlin. “It was really special to see such a positive response across all age groups and to be able to raise awareness for such an important cause.”
“Our responsibility as a club is not done at U19,” added City SC President Jim Barnhill. “Katie’s Save is making a difference by advocating for kids at the next level, and it’s important that we support initiatives like Katie’s Save that will serve our kids when they move on from City SC.”
Many thanks to all of our City SC players, parents, team managers, coaches, and staff who support this event every year, to all those who volunteered to referee games, staff donation tables and set up and break down fields. 100% of funds raised from this event go directly to Katie’s Save to support the important work they are doing to advocate for students at colleges and universities nationwide.
Donations are still being accepted online via: https://www.katiessave.org/donate
Events like the Giving Back Friendlies truly define our club and community spirit. We really appreciate your help and know that Katie’s Save greatly appreciates the support!
