 By Karen Lawfer August 30, 2005
All the football and cheer programs in Juneau are run through the Juneau Youth Football League (age 8-High School). The program receives no funding from the school district for it's football program. The budget for the JYFL is approximately $300,000 per year. This money is raised by the players through registration fees, raffle ticket sales, program book ad sales and "Chorebusters" - a program the Crimson Bears must participate in as part of the team. As a chorebuster each High School football player must complete at least 7 hours of work for members in the community (hauling rock, digging ditches, moving furniture, etc) in exchange for a donation to JYFL. For example, each High School player must raise approximately $1,500 per player before they are given the opportunity to suit up as a Crimson Bear. In all our divisions, if players or cheerleaders are not willing to do the necessary fund raising they cannot participate in the program. The City and Borough of Juneau does have a 1% sales tax for youth activities in Juneau. Not just for sports. Other youth art, music or social service agencies as well as sports programs in town must apply annually for a share of these funds. For this football season JYFL received $25,000 - a small percentage (less than 10%) of our $300,000 budget. I do agree with Coach Cropp that we would be in nirvana if we could run our programs without the raffles, the chorebusters, and all the fund raising these players have to do to participate. We in Juneau are extremely fortunate. We are able to run a football program that has the support of the entire community. Businesses that are corporate sponsors or advertisers, other organizations that help us, and the fans in Juneau are tremendous. It takes a community to run this program and Juneau is the best. Karen Lawfer
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