The Emerald City Supporters, Gorilla FC and North End Supporters joined forces with the Sounders FC that raised over $12K for Mercy Corps relief efforts in Colombia.
VIDEO: Supporting Colombia Relief
PHOTOS: Colombia Relief at Fuel
SEATTLE - The Sounders FC faithful continued to show their incredible support and their sense of family on Wednesday night at Fuel Sports Bar in Seattle, where the club and its supporter groups held a charitable fundraiser to support flood relief for forward Fredy Montero’s home country of Colombia.
The Emerald City Supporters, Gorilla FC and North End Supporters joined forces with the Sounders FC to conduct the fundraiser on about a week’s notice after learning that Montero would be flying to his home country to assist in the recovery efforts from the floods and mudslides that had caused devastation throughout the region, but particularly in Campo de la Cruz, the town where he lived until he was nine and his grandparents still reside.
Before the night even began, fans had donated over $3,000 to Mercy Corps, the only non-governmental organization currently on the ground in Colombia, who would use the funds directly to assist in flood relief.
On Wednesday night, those fans packed Fuel and raised over $12,000 through auctions, raffles and cash donations in support of Montero and his fellow Colombians Jhon Kennedy Hurtado and Miguel Montano. In that amount, Fuel donated 10-percent of all food a drink sales during the three-hour event and 50-percent of all beer sales of the ECS Brougham Bitter and specially-made Colombian Aid Amber.
“We are more than the Seattle community, we have a lot of fans worldwide. To be able to help Fredy, Jhon and Miguel with their hometown … it’s our duty – it’s our responsibility,” Sounders FC defender Taylor Graham said.
The impromptu announcement by James Riley that he would sing karaoke for a cash donation of $100 raised over $200 alone – and he obliged the fans with his rendition of the Oasis hit “Wonderwall.” He then joined Graham and other fellow Sounders Mike Fucito, Pat Noonan and Nate Jaqua for a karaoke version of “Bohemian Rhapsody” by Queen and an encore performance of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’.”
“It’s terrific. To do this on such short notice and have such a fantastic turnout is a testament to our organization and to our fanbase,” Riley said.
In addition to the Sounders FC, the supporter groups and Fuel Sports bar, the raffle and auctions also saw significant contributions from Golazo Energy and Jagermeister.
Additionally, every dollar raised throughout the campaign will be matched by the European Commission.
Steve Nantz of Mercy Corps, who was in attendance, said, “we’re going to leverage our resources to help families get their lives back together and get back on their feet.”
Mercy Corps will continue to accept donations throughout the entire campaign, which officially ends on December 22 at http://www.mercycorps.org/fundraising/seattlesoundersfc.
