Bandits football team still looking for funds

A pack of Bandits is a whole lot closer to playing in national football finals thanks to the generosity of strangers and a whole lot of effort.

The Bensenville-Wood Dale Bandits football team has raised $8,000 of the $12,000 they need to travel to this weekend's American Youth Football Association championships.

"We have a commitment from all the parents - we are going to (go to Orlando,)" Hillari Lube said today.

Whatever the shortfall, it will be divided by each of the 16 families sending the 12- and 13-year-old players to the national competition, which starts Saturday and runs through Dec. 8.

If Lube has anything to say about it, they won't have to subsidize the whole $4,000 shortfall. She hasn't given up on raising funds.

"I'm waiting to hear back from the Chicago Rush and another contributor," she said Thursday.

Players and their parents found out early this month that the team had qualified for nationals. Then they realized it would cost at least $700 per player.

And each boy needs one family member to accompany him.

While Lube found air fare between $200 to $250 - and a hotel that included free breakfast and dinner for kids 12 and under - there still are plenty of other incidental costs.

Some families have borrowed money from friends and relatives to make the trip. Others have taken out loans.

While it's difficult for all, it's harder for some than others because some boys have parents who've been out of work for quite a while, Lube said.

Graciously, other team parents have said they'll pass on the reimbursements to help.

Anyone interested in making donations to the team's trip fund can do so online at www.eteamz.com/BWFCA.

Checks can be mailed to "Bandits Football" at P.O. Box 437, Wood Dale, IL 60191.