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Haiti pledges money to Trinidad and Tobago soccer

By WTOP Staff

KURT VOIGT
AP Sports Writers

Upon getting word that the Trinidad and Tobago women’s national soccer team might not even have enough money for lunch, Haiti’s team took a look at its fundraising for World Cup qualifying — an account totaling a little over $1,300 — and decided to turn it over to the competition.

That left Haiti with an uncertain future of its own. Until the Clintons got involved.

Both Trinidad and Tobago and Haiti are training for next week’s CONCACAF championship, which serves as qualifying for the Women’s World Cup next year in Canada. Haiti opens the eight-team tournament on Wednesday against Guatemala in Kansas City, Kansas, while Trinidad and Tobago faces the top-ranked U.S. women’s team.

On Wednesday, Trinidad and Tobago’s coach, Randy Waldrum, issued an urgent plea on Twitter.

“I need HELP! T&T sent a team here last night with $500 total. No equipment such as balls, no transportation from airport to hotel, nothing,” the post read.

Waldrum said Thursday that his players got breakfast at their hotel in Dallas, where they are training, but he didn’t know where lunch was going to come from. So he got dramatic.

“I thought, ‘I’ve got an hour to find meals, to get us through the day, let alone the next five or six days,'” he said. “The only way I knew to do it was to send the tweet out, and I knew I couldn’t say, ‘Hey, T&T is in need of money, will you help donate?”

His posts went viral quickly. The soccer website KeeperNotes.com reached out to Waldrum and by Wednesday night had collected just over $9,300 for the team via a PayPal account. Jen Cooper, who runs KeeperNotes, said because of the overwhelming response the site had to stop taking donations because of tax implications.

Haiti’s team also heard Waldrum’s plea from its training camp in South Bend, Indiana. The team had been running on donations and money raised from T-shirt sales and other fundraising. It had $1,316 in its account.

The team, which has had its own financial struggles, decided to give it all to Trinidad and Tobago.

“My players saw on social media the difficulties faced by T&T players and approached me about what can we do to help. I was stunned,” Haiti coach Shek Borkowski said in announcing the donation on the team’s Facebook page. “They were very animated about helping so I will do as they asked.”

That’s when Borkowski heard bombshell news: Haiti’s soccer federation received a call from the Clinton Foundation, the charitable organization run by former President Bill Clinton and his family, saying it wanted to support the women’s program.

Borkowski said he’s been told to come up with a list of immediate needs for the team and a long-term budget. He hasn’t been given a specific dollar figure.

“They told us they’re ready to step up not just one time, but long term support for women’s soccer in Haiti,” Borkowski said in an interview Thursday. “That’s exciting information for us. We’ve been doing whatever we can to get by.”

Craig Minassian, a spokesman for the Clinton Foundation, said in an email that the organization decided to help after reading about the Haiti team.

“The Clinton Foundation and Partners In Health, who received similar inquiries, have spoken with the team and are helping connect them with interested supporters,” he wrote.

Borkowski said that without the financial help, if the team didn’t qualify for the World Cup, it would have likely been disbanded following the CONCACAF tournament.

Both Waldrum and Borkowski coach their teams as volunteers.

Trinidad and Tobago’s soccer federation, which had to find the funds to pay for the team’s visas, was already working to secure additional money for the team when the plea went out. The country’s Sports Ministry and a sponsor have since sent $40,000.

While Waldrum may have stepped on a few toes with his unconventional fundraising, his team can keep training in its quest to reach women’s soccer’s biggest stage for the first time. And they can eat.

“Our players have not made a penny in their national team careers. They’ve given up so much. I just felt like you know what, I’ve got to try to do something to help them,” Waldrum said. “It would have been easy to walk away with the lack of funding, but when I look at this team I think they deserve this chance, and I’m going to fight to the end for them.”

___

AP Sports Writer Tom Coyne in South Bend, Indiana, contributed to this report.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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