Pop Warner Youth Football Seeking Donations

The Peekskill Pop Warner football teams are called the Peekskill Titans. They were named after the Jets, “the Titans of New York,” who used to practice in . But last year, while the Pop Warner players may have performed like Titans on the field, their uniforms did not make them feel that way.

This year, Peekskill Pop Warner President Darryl Francis is hoping to raise enough money to keep the program going and to replace the now five-year-old uniforms the kids have been wearing.

Pop Warner is a national non-profit organization with the largest youth football, cheer and dance program in the world, according to popwarner.com. The organization requires children to meet academic expectations in order to join. The program is run by local volunteers that rely on financial support from the community and local businesses to sustain themselves. Peekskill Pop Warner currently has eight volunteer coaches but Francis is looking for about four more to help out. 

“The uniforms are going into their fifth year and they are worn…If we get new uniforms then we can use the old ones for practice uniforms which will save families money,” Francis said.

The organization needs to raise a minimum of $12,000 in order to buy the new uniforms and pay all of the regional and national fees due to Pop Warner, Francis said.

There is a registration fee for participants, but Francis keeps it as low as possible to ensure families can afford to have their child play. FUnding also helps to awar scholarships for registration fees to children who would not be able to participate otherwise.

“However, the registration fee does not begin to cover the expenses that we have for the entire season,” Francis said.

Peekskill’s Pop Warner has four divisions: Tiny Mights, ages five to seven; Mighty Mights, ages seven to nine; Junior Peewees, ages eight to 11; and peewees, ages nine to 12. There are 18- 21 kids per team. They are allowed to have up to 34 per team, but because they have limited equipment they need to keep the numbers lower.

They need to raise the money by July of this year in time to pay Pop Warner dues. The season starts August 1. 

To donate or volunteer, contact Darryl Francis at titanspyfl@yahoo.com

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