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The Carlisle Soccer Club has received a $5,000 grant from the Warren County Philanthropic Partnership.

Grant funds will help the Club upgrade its irrigation system with a new electric motor, pump and future underground irrigation system.

"We’re excited to have been awarded this grant," says Lisa Wilson, Carlisle Soccer Club director of development. "We’re getting ready to take a huge step toward improving our fields and this grant is a great first step toward an investment in our Club and in soccer in Carlisle.

The Club will soon purchase an electric motor to replace the gas-powered engine that failed last July, pay for supplies to run electrical service to the motor and a new pump that will eventually supply in-ground irrigation. A lot of the labor for the project will be done by volunteers and through in-kind donations of service.

The Warren County Philanthropic Partnership was organized to promote and enhance community based philanthropy in Warren County. The Warren Count Philanthropic Partnership recently received a state award to facilitate endowment building and grant making.

The contribution to the foundation was made possible by the Iowa General Assembly. In 2004 the Iowa legislature passed several bills to encourage foundation building and community based philanthropy. 

Among these measures was H.F. 2032 which provided that non-gambling counties, initiating a county-wide community foundation would be eligible to receive on half of one percent of the stat’s gross gambling tax receipts.

Eighteen grant applications were received and eleven organizations across Warren County shared in the funding allocations.

To meet demand for additional winter soccer in Carlisle, the Carlisle Soccer Club will sponsor an eight-week indoor soccer league this winter. The league will be administered by  Ken Sadler, Paul Gruber, and a committee of volunteers committed to the long-term improvement of soccer in the community. High school soccer players will also coach and referee games under the supervision of trained coaches and referees.

Ninety percent of the profits from the registration will be donated to support both the boys and girls high school soccer programs and 10 percent will support soccer scholarships for the Carlisle Soccer Club.

"The coaches and volunteers that have organized this league see this as a great way to complete the circle between the Club and the high school programs," says Ken Sadler, a long-time Carlisle soccer supporter and national C licensed coach. "The players who started with the Club when it was re-formed in 2004 are now the foundation for the high school program, so it makes perfect sense to build those ties while providing more soccer opportunities to the younger ages."

Indoor soccer is a fast-paced style of soccer that encourages ball control and technique over physical play. With limited space and constant pressure, players will learn to think and react quickly.

The league will run Sunday afternoons from January 10th through February 28, with games played in the Elementary School Rec Center. All teams will be coed. Players register as individuals and will be placed onto competitively balanced teams. The cost is $35 for the eight-week session, which includes eight games and a free t-shirt.

You can download the registration form here, fill it out and mail it in with your check made out to the Carlisle Soccer Club to Carlisle Soccer Club, c/o Indoor soccer, PO Box 254, Carlisle, IA 50047. The deadline for registration is December 22nd.

For more information, contact Ken Sadler at 515-321-6221 or Paul Gruber at 515-491-2446.