Carver High trying to build ‘Field of Dreams’

By Bradley Handwerger / WWL-TV.com Sports Writer
Raising $200,000 in three months – a difficult process. Raising that kind of money in one month?

Well that’s just crazy.  But that’s exactly what Carver High athletics director Brian Bordainick is trying to do.  Bordainick’s task has to do with the NFL Grassroots Program, a project that helps lower economic communities build or rebuild a field for public use. “It came across my desk about two or three months ago, a more realistic time frame to raise money,” Bordainick said.

The idea is that a community raised $200,000 and the NFL, which decides which communities get the grant, matches with another $200,000. That’s $400,000 towards a new or rebuilt field.  There was one problem, however.  “Then I realized we were not in Phase I of the district’s master plan,” Bordainick said.

Alas, that time came at the beginning of November. Bordainick was given official word that Carver was part of Phase I and at that moment, the wheels in his mind began turning.  “I was like, ‘That’s it. Circle the wagons,’ ” he said. “It’s time to run with this. I’ve just been trying to grab people from everywhere.  So Bordainick met up with fellow Carver teacher David Cash, a former Web designer and now a social studies teacher at the high school, and they came up with a Web site (www.9thwardfieldofdreams.com) that explains the project and gives donors a place to pledge money for the project.

A brick for the Walkway of Hope is $100. You can donate less money if you’d like. But every penny counts.  The field that would be built is on Carver’s campus, taking the place of an existing one that belongs to the New Orleans Recreational Department. Carver and NORD are in talks about sharing the ownership of the field, Bordainick said.  The largest donation thus far has been $500, though Bordainick said he has yet to actually have the check in hand. In the first 24 hours, the Web site showed donations totaling $823. By the 40-hour mark, it was up to $1,466.

If Carver reaches the $200,000 mark but isn’t chosen by the NFL, the money would go to the school’s general athletic fund, a worthy cause in and of itself for a school in a still struggling community.Still, they have to get to 200 grand to begin with. In his words, he’s trying to make the donation Web site “viral.”

No one is going to write me a check for $50,000,” Bordainick said. I’ve got o Barack Obama this thing. We need to make this as viral as possible.”  He has turned to Facebook, the domain of teenagers and young adults that has become an easy way to get word out. He has blasted emails out to local and regional groups, including the Young Leadership Council and the Georgia Alumni Association.  And he is turning towards individuals who, despite the holidays and current economic crisis, will still give money to good causes.

 “It’s tough,” Bordainick said. “It’s the hardest time of year to do this. It’s Thanksgiving and Christmas. People are spending money on presents and travel.  “Certainly, the slowing of the economy has had an impact. But I really truly believe that people who want to give are going to give no matter what.”  He added, “This isn’t a charity that you give to year after year. It’s just something that tugs at you for awhile. You get it forwarded to you from somewhere, you read it and you like what you see and throw in two cents or 100 bucks and wish us luck.”

For more information, you can go to the Web site at www.9thwardfieldofdreams.com or you can email Brian Bordainick at www.9thwardfieldofdreams.com/contact   The grant proposal has to be postmarked by Dec. 15, so donations will stop being accepted at 11:59 p.m. Dec. 14.

Originally Published in HS Gametime.com on November 20, 2008 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10:27 AM CST on Thursday, November 20, 2008