Memphis, Tenn., (August 2009)—With two weeks remaining until the first ever National School Spirit Day, cheerleaders across the United States have already racked up more than the 90,909 hours of community service they committed to raising. The current number of hours dedicated to community service now exceeds 92,000 hours.
September 9, 2009 has been designated as a day of service for school spirit teams. Varsity, the worldwide leader in organized cheerleading, has asked cheerleaders to be high profile in their communities by performing works of service in their schools and neighborhoods.
“We are so proud that our cheerleaders have pulled together to help us reach this goal,” says John Newby, Senior Vice President and General Manager for Varsity, whose camp organizations have been promoting the service initiative throughout the summer. “We know that cheerleaders are already so generous in volunteering their time to help others, and hope this official day of service gives everyone a chance to appreciate their efforts as well.
Varsity’s camp associations, the Universal Cheerleaders Association (UCA), National Cheerleaders Association (NCA), and United Cheerleaders Association (USA), have heavily encouraged the 325,000 cheerleaders they instructed this summer to participate in the first ever National School Spirit Day, and each has found its own way to commemorate the day:
• UCA’s initiative challenged cheerleaders to perform 90,090 hours of community service by September 9, 2009 and logging those hours on the tracker at http://uca.varsity.com. UCA will submit the participation numbers and results to the Guinness Book of Records.
• NCA’s initiative involves fundraising for each team’s local Make-a-Wish chapter and helping NCA grant wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions and bringing cheer to their lives. Cheerleaders can check out http://nca.varsity.com for information on how to get involved with Make-A-Wish.
• USA’s initiative is a focus on honoring U.S. military heroes, including inviting teams to hold a Friday night pep rally to honor those who have served our country.
Cheerleaders are often the most hardworking athletes in a school. They fundraise for their own expenses as well as for charities and causes. There are an estimated 3.7 million cheerleaders in the U.S., with at least 400,000 of them cheering for public high schools.
Visit http://nationalschoolspiritday.org for more information. There is a link for cheerleaders to submit their team's account of community service. Inside Cheerleading Magazine will feature the inspiring stories of 10 cheerleading teams in their December issue and on their website.
About Varsity Varsity is the source for all things related to cheerleading and dance team. With a rich heritage and traditions dating back to 1948, Varsity is an innovative global leader comprised of the leading spirit industry brands and organizations including its educational camps, clinics, competitions and uniforms to teams around the world. Since 1988, Varsity has led the way in cheer safety, as a supporter of AACCA (www.aacca.org), and as a camp leader training more than 325,000 cheerleaders a year in cheerleading fundamentals with an emphasis on safety. Web-based VarsityTV features hundreds of cheerleading and dance team videos and has become a favorite cheer destination for cheerleaders and coaches alike. Varsity is based in Memphis, Tenn. and employs more than 3,000 employees nationwide. For more information about Varsity, please visit www.varsity.com.