BARRY TOWNSHIP -- A restaurant in Schuylkill County is helping out a youth soccer association that has fallen on hard times.
The North Schuylkill Soccer Association had a rough last couple of months. Back in April, one of the sheds was broken into.
"They went into our third shed there and they destroyed our freezers," association soccer parent Jen Warnstorff said. "They went into our maintenance shed and wrote a bunch of graffiti.
That wasn't the worst of the damage, a couple months after that, a vehicle ran into the field's concession stand and maintenance shed causing about $24,000 of damage. Not only were both buildings and everything inside them destroyed, the plumbing and electricity were, too. The association had to rent bathrooms and a washing station because the car accident knocked out their plumbing.
Insurance will cover some of the damage, but association leaders said with the season starting on Saturday, it will lose money from not being able to sell concessions. Plus, work on the field will not be completed before the end of the season. To try to raise money, the soccer association has enlisted the help of a The Mineshaft Cafe. It is hosting a fundraiser where 20 percent of all meals purchased will go to the association.
"I think it is great," Warnstorff said. "I think it is amazing that they're willing to do what they can and they're willing to help us out to try to regain and rebuild what was lost and we lost a lot."