Nonprofit Fort Worth sports association asking for help after fire burns down facility, equipment
FORT WORTH, Texas - A Fort Worth nonprofit sports club is asking for donations and volunteers to help rebuild after a fire destroyed its field, equipment and more.
Hallmark Eagles facilities burn down
What we know:
The Hallmark Eagles, a nonprofit sports organization in Fort Worth, saw a fire destroy its equipment and its concession stand.
The organization's mower, scoreboard, inflatable tunnel, field markers and more were destroyed in the blaze.
Local perspective:
The nonprofit has been around since the late 1960s, and is the longest-running youth sports club in Fort Worth. It offers football, cheerleading, and more to socioeconomically disadvantaged families.
Several NFL players played youth football with Hallmark, including Arizona Cardinals linebacker Baron Browning and former Atlanta Falcons running back Jase McLellan.
What they're saying:
"From what the fire department was saying they think, they weren’t sure how it started, but he thought it might’ve started in a trash can," says Newton Braziel, who has coached the program for decades.
Braziel suggested that a homeless person could have been staying in the concession stand and caused the fire. Clothes were found inside the burned-down building.
He and his daughter Keisha are hoping to overcome the odds and rebuild.
Newton Braziel
What you can do:
Hallmark is asking for volunteers to help cut down weeds, replace broken stands, paint, and remove unusable items in the concession stand.
They're hoping to have rebuilt enough by October 3 to host their homecoming game. A volunteer has already offered to mow the field.
A GoFundMe has been set up for the nonprofit, which you can find here.
The Source: Information in this story comes from the Hallmark Eagles.