Thinking about buying or selling your house? Here’s a chance to help the Carlisle Soccer Club and it won’t cost you a dime.

Carlisle soccer parents Deric and Kathy Kidd have teamed up to offer a fantastic deal for home buyers and sellers..and the Carlisle Soccer Club. When you buy or sell your home with Kathy, a Realtor with REMAX Opportunities in Ankeny, she will donate 25% of the net Realtor professional fees to the Club in your name. When you finance (or refinance) with Deric, a senior loan officer with Academy Mortgage in Urbandale, He will donate up to $400 of the banker’s fees.

Buying a $180,000 home, for example, would mean a donation of approximately $1,400 to $1,600 to the Club with no cost to you! If Kathy sells your home and helps you buy one, the donation could be more than $2,500!  

This offers applies when you buy a home, sell a home, or refinance. There is no increase in fees to cover these contributions. This offer applies to anywhere in the Des Moines metro and surrounding communities, so tell your family, friends and co-workers. It’s just the Kidd’s way of giving back to the community.

For more information contact:

Kathy Kidd, Realtor
REMAX Opportunities
515-689-5478
kathykiddrealtor@gmail.com
www.UandYourHome.com

Deric Kidd
Academy Mortgage
515-979-9564
deric.kidd@academymortgage.com

Please check your calendars now and go online to sign up for a shift or two.

This is, by far, our leading fundraising event each year, and it allows us to NOT have door-to-door selling, so please plan now to take part this summer.

Please contact Lisa Wilson 989-0031 with any questions about the event. 

The Complex has changed a little bit since you left the last game last fall. We’ve installed our new sign at the new entrance and put up a new fence in the northwest corner of the complex to separate the cars from the fields.

That means that the new entrance is at the center of the complex. So, when you arrive at the complex from the west, drive east, past the old entrance to the center gate. When you enter, turn right. You can park facing the fence - to the south - or facing the road. Please enter through the center gate and exit through the west gate.

We have six marked handicapped spaces near the pass through gates…please leave those for our guests who have handicapped tags on their cars.

At the far west side, there is a chain in the fence for emergency vehicle access, so please do not park in front of that area. There’s also a no parking zone near the concession stand so that vehicles can get through that area. There are no lines on the dirt and grass, so please use common sense when choosing where to park.

And if someone asks you to move your car, assume that they are doing it for a good reason and smile! We want to make this a great experience for EVERYONE that comes to Carlisle, including those from out of town.

More than a dozen hearty souls showed up on Saturday morning, March 26th, to get the soccer complex ready to greet players, their families and other visitors the weekend of April 2nd and 3rd.

The set goals, installed nets, placed goals and player benches, finished setting the new parking lot, marked fields and cleaned up the grounds.

Thanks to the following for giving up their morning:

David Gutierrez
Terry Krchil
Ryan Woodruff
Joe Fortelka
Ken Sadler
Ben, David and Jenetta Dawson
Mark and Carson True
Rob Brewer
Troy Alleman
William, Gaylene and Katy Rick

The Ricks also dropped off four bags of cans to be redeemed for the Club. Remember, We have a large bin near the entrance for you to put your redeemable cans and bottles. All proceeds go back into the complex.

See you on the 2nd and 3rd!

The U.S. Soccer Foundation has awarded a grant to the Carlisle Soccer Club, Inc. to support the first phase of its irrigation project.

The U.S. Soccer Foundation is the Major Charitable Arm of Soccer in the United States. On January 14th, 2011 it awarded 63 grants totaling $2.5 million to non-profit organizations serving youth in 30 states. Since its inception, the U.S. Soccer Foundation has awarded more than $54 million to groups, both large and small, in all 50 states.

The 2011 grant awards reflect the U.S. Soccer Foundation’s focus on improving the health and well being of children in underserved communities. The awards will support programming, coaching and equipment for players and the construction of safe playing fields that will facilitate the continued growth of soccer in the United States.

“This grant confirms and supports the work we’ve been doing for the past three or four years to create a fantastic soccer facility in the Carlisle area,” says Mark True, Club president. “We upgraded our well pump and motor last year, and this grant will help us complete the next step….automatic irrigation for about one-quarter of the complex.”

“We’ve also reconfigured the new parking area, installed part of the fencing and installed a new permanent sign at the main entrance to the complex as indicated in our master plan completed last year.”

The grant is in the form of a $13,000 irrigation equipment voucher from Hunter Industries. Volunteer project managers are currently working with local vendors to create an installation schedule with the hope that the system can be installed by this summer.

“The U.S. Soccer Foundation is proud to support each of these projects that keep our youth active, healthy and engaged in activities that provide a positive alternative to negative influences,” said Ed Foster-Simeon, President & CEO. “By supporting the development of programs and safe playing fields, we help ensure that children in underserved communities have easy and affordable access to quality soccer programs that support their physical and personal development.”

The U.S. Soccer Foundation receives support provided by members of its Partners Resource Center, a team of soccer industry leaders that includes Eurosport, Hunter Industries, Musco Sports Lighting, The Toro Company, and Sport Court.

The Foundation awarded 17 Footprint Fields Grants to develop new FieldTurf soccer fields in communities across the country. The Footprint Fields program, supported by adidas, FieldTurf and MLS W.O.R.K.S., Major League Soccer’s community outreach initiative, is aimed at growing the game of soccer and providing safe, sustainable playing spaces in underserved communities.

About the U.S. Soccer Foundation
The U.S. Soccer Foundation is the Major Charitable Arm of Soccer in the United States. Established in 1994, the U.S. Soccer Foundation has invested more than $54 million, supporting projects in each of the 50 states. The U.S. Soccer Foundation supports programs and field building projects that provide low income and at-risk youth in urban communities with soccer programs that promote education, healthy lifestyles, leadership and positive alternatives to drugs, crime and other at-risk behaviors. For more information, or to donate online, please visit ussoccerfoundation.org/donate.

With the installation of 300+ feet of fence at the complex, we’ve created a high-visibility location for placing banners in front of 500 prospects every week!

Do you own a business or know a business that would like to reach that many soccer fans every week during the season! We have the space. Banner placement costs $100 per eight-week session ($200 per year). We also have three premium spaces near gates for $150/season.  You can buy one or more seasons and we’ll hold your banner between seasons, or you can get them back BETWEEN seasons for other marketing opportunities.

Don’t have a banner? Carlisle’s Etc.Graphics can make you a 4′ x 8′ Airflow banner for just $165 (the price quoted on the recent direct mail piece was incorrect!).

If you’d like to support Carlisle soccer, please contact Mark True at 556-1574 to make arrangements. The season is just two weeks away so act quickly to make the most of the spring season!

Things are changing at the Carlisle Soccer Complex. Last fall, we installed 300 feet of fence between the new parking lot and the fields on the west side of the complex. This week, we completed installation of the new, permanent identification sign at the center entrance. Both projects were funded by grants submitted by the Club to the Carlisle Community Foundation and the Warren County Philanthropic Partnership last year.

We also were awarded a significant grant from the United States Soccer Foundation to help with the beginning of our in-ground sprinkler system installation. Your board is currently working on a projected schedule and we’ll have more information for you when we get it.

The new sign marks the new entrance to the complex. From now on, visitors will enter from the center entrance and turn either east (u14 field) or west (u6, u8, u10 and u12 field). This is the first step toward the implementation of our master plan introduced to the Club last fall.

If you want to help us continue improvements at the complex, please plan on attending our work day scheduled for Saturday, March 26th. Many hands make lighter work for all, as they say, and we’ll be getting ready for the spring season.

Mark your calendars for Saturday, March 26th, from 8 to 3 (or until the work gets done). That’s our spring work day at the Carlisle Soccer Complex. We’ll be setting up fields, reconfiguring the parking and sprucing the complex up for opening weekend April 2-3. For more information, contact Ryan Woodruff, facilities director at 208-6328.

Our director of development, Lisa Wilson, will be focusing more of her efforts on writing winning grant requests so she’ll be giving up several duties that she’s been responsible for for the past couple of years. So we’re looking for your help.

We need volunteers to coordinate we’re trying to carve off tasks that she’s been doing over the past couple of years. I know you’ve always stepped up in the past so I’d be very confident putting this responsibility into your hands.

  These are the main responsibilities:

Concession stand manager(s) –  The hot chocolate, hot dogs, pop corn and other goodies help improve the game-day experience for everyone visiting our complex. It also helps us raise a good deal of money to fund enhancement of the complex. But it won’t work if we don’t have it open. So we need a team of volunteers to manage the concession stand. Specifically, the team will be responsible for:

• Clean the stand and set up for opening weekend
• Clean the stand and prepare for the off-season after the closing weekends
• Open and close stand each Sunday (and Saturday mornings if volunteers are available)
• Work with the volunteer director to get a copy of concession stand volunteers
• Order food weekly or bi-weekly, depending on the need (food is delivered to concession by our vendor and automatically billed through our account)
• Keep track of money box and provide proceeds to the Club Treasurer each Sunday afternoon

 Arts Festival Supervisor(s) - The Des Moines Arts Festival has been the single largest fundraiser for the Club for the past two years. We staff one of only four beer and wine tents at one of the city’s most popular summer events. It’s a fun time and a great money-maker for the Club. We need a couple of supervisors to lend their energy to lead a team of volunteers for this event. The specific duties include: 

• Attend Arts Festival meetings a few months prior to event (and you’ll usually get cool free stuff during the festival for attending)
• Work with the volunteer director to recruit volunteers and create work schedule for the three-day festival
• Ensure all first-time volunteers have attend the beer training session
• Maintain and collect proceeds from the tip Jars during the event (this is one of our best sources of collections from the event!)
• Keep an organized, staffed and stocked tent during event and
• Recruite and train shift managers so you don’t have to be there the entire time

Spaghetti Dinner Manager- The end-of-season spaghetti dinner is quickly becoming a tradition for the Club and for the community of Carlisle. It’s a simple way to bring together parents, players and members of the community while raising money. We get to take advantage of a generous donation from Barilla Pasta Company and other vendors, and have great records so it just requires someone to make it happen. Specifically, the spaghetti dinner manager is responsible for:

• Work with Club secretary to establish date and reserve a location
• Work with the director of Development to complete the request for donations from those who have given in the past (and others, if you have ideas)
• Work with the director of marketing communications to advertise to Club and the community via email, signs, Carlisle Citizen Newspaper and other media
• Work with the volunteers to create a volunteer schedule
• Supervise the preparation and serving of the dinner
• Submit the proceeds to the Club treasurer

The new parking lot on the northwest side of the complex is taking shape. Thanks to our good neighbor, Howard Goodhue, we put the posts into the ground on a cold Tuesday afternoon. Howard sent his employees - Steve Gilliland and Kendall Fogle - and an end loader down to make quick work of inserting posts. I guess this is pretty standard for farmers, but I was pretty impressed with how the big bucket pushed the 56 posts into the ground like a toothpick in butter. Most went it four feet, but some hit a barrier and we’ll have to cut them off before putting up the rails. Watch this video to see a couple of posts go into the ground.