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Vice President Kamala Harris invites Central High School softball players to Washington

John Shipley, Pioneer Press
·3 min read
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Four Central High School students have the chance of a lifetime in front of them, invited Wednesday afternoon to visit Vice President Kamala Harris next week at the Vice President’s Residence in Washington, D.C.

The school estimated Thursday that to get them there and back, it would need to raise $15,000 in four days. By Friday morning, the school’s Parent Advisory Council had raised more than $17,000 on a GoFundMe page.

That will be enough to cover airfare, lodging, meals and transportation in Washington for a party of seven that includes Central’s four softball co-captains, plus athletics director Alicia Ekegren, head coach Haley McFarlane and assistant coach Shakia Wilkerson.

“Passing up the opportunity is not an option,” Central Principal Cherise Ayers said Thursday.

That’s why Central officially accepted the invitation for Wednesday, March 27, before the school knew exactly how they would pay for it.

“A person has to take them. The invitation is extended to all of them. Can all of them go? That’s the question,” said Sunny Kase, co-chair of Central’s Parent Advisory Council, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that raises money for the school.

“I think Vice President Harris meeting all of our amazing women, women of color, and girls, is an awesome opportunity,” Kase said. “The common barrier, from staff to teacher and coaches, is no one has an extra $1,200 sitting around to fly in and out of Washington for two nights.”

To that end, the PAC spent Thursday contacting alumni and local businesses, and creating a GoFundMe page, in an effort to raise the money in time for the players, and at least one adult to chaperone, to be in Washington for the meeting scheduled for next Wednesday at the Vice President’s Residence on the grounds of the United States Naval Observatory in northwest Washington, D.C.

The GoFundMe page, called “GIRL POWER! Central Softball goes to D.C.,” is organized by the Central High School Parent Advisory Council at gofund.me/dbefa8c3. By Friday morning, the fundraiser had received $17,891 toward the journey thanks to 214 donations, including a $5,000 donation from St. Paul Firefighters Local 21 and an anonymous gift of $2,500.

“It’s a lot of money and really fast,” said Ayers, a Central graduate. “We’re leaning on our community, and a big piece of Central is how much the community supports us. Sports boosters, the PAC, they’re working really hard. We’re looking at foundations. It’s such a great opportunity for young women to go and be leaders, and learn from the woman in the highest seat of power in our nation.”

Visit last week

Harris visited a Central practice on March 14, surprising the team at Jimmy Lee Recreation Center after she delivered a speech at a St. Paul Planned Parenthood clinic. But the vice president’s invitation didn’t arrive until Wednesday, “completely out of the blue,” according to Ayers.

“The best kind of surprise,” she said.

The players, athletics director Ekegren said Thursday, are “excited beyond words; they can’t even speak. There are no words to convey how excited they are, and how much they appreciate this opportunity. It’s a once-a-lifetime thing.”

Kase said the PAC raises between $50,000 and $60,000 a year through Central families and alumni but the deadline for this one is daunting.

“We need to piece some things together and align everything,” she said. “Our focus is on the opportunity for four young women, amazing young leaders at Central, to continue a connection with the vice president and bring those skills back not just to the softball team but the whole school.”

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