GFA makes donation to Victim Advocates Reaching Out (VARO)

GFA makes donation to Victim Advocates Reaching Out (VARO)

[March 26, 2021 – Harmon, Guam] Following a weeklong donation drive for Victim Advocates Reaching Out (VARO), Guam Football Association and the GFA Women’s Committee presented cases of donated basic necessity items Thursday morning at the GFA National Training Center in Harmon.

The contributed items will be utilized at temporary shelters for families and shared with other community organizations working with VARO.

Esteves

Esteves

“On behalf of GFA and the GFA Women’s Committee, I would like to thank VARO for the necessary services they provide the local community and also to our community members for their generosity in donating much needed supplies to support VARO’s mission,” said Tina Esteves, GFA Executive Committee member and Women’s Committee Chairperson. “The donation drive was part of a series of events organized in celebration of women’s football during the month of March, beginning with AFC Women’s Football Day on Mar. 8. Kudos to the GFA team for all of its efforts this month, which also featured other events, including a roadside cleanup and bus stop adoption by the Guam U20 Women’s National Team and a health and wellness fair for women.”

From Mar. 15 to Mar. 22, GFA collected new and unopened basic necessity items, including home cleaning products, toiletries, feminine hygiene products, and baby/toddler health products among others for VARO. In addition to community members making donations at GFA’s drive-through tent, Mike Wu and Guam Home Center also donated 210 one-gallon bottles of bleach to VARO.

Guam Home Center donation

Guam Home Center donation

“We definitely would like to thank GFA and the community for putting together the donation drive and contributing items – this generous donation will be used for victim services,” said VARO’s Guen Belandres. “Most families who are in abusive situations have to leave at a moment’s notice and basic necessity items – some things as small as a toothbrush and toothpaste or other items like detergent to do laundry – goes a long way for them in their transition.

“It’s so heartwarming to see the community come together to donate these much-needed items to benefit families and survivors so they don’t have to worry about bare essentials for each day,” Belandres added.

GFA staff members Ralph Awa, Erlissa Delfin, and Kimberly Sherman coordinated the donation drive with Belandres, Charlenne Quintanilla-Santos, and Latisha Taitague from VARO. Belandres and Taitague represented VARO at GFA Thursday to accept the donations at the GFA National Training Center in Harmon. According to its Web site, VARO is a non-profit volunteer corporation that provides services to victims and families of domestic violence, sexual assault, abuse, violent crime, and traumatic events. The organization also provides outreach and education events, among other types of events, in an effort to promote ongoing awareness of the dynamics of violence.

For more information about VARO or to coordinate donations, visit the organization’s Web site at https://www.varoguam.org/ or call 477-5552.

Guam Football Association donated cases of basic necessity items to Victim Advocates Reaching Out (VARO) Thursday at the GFA National Training Center in Harmon. The contributed items were from a weeklong community donation drive organized as part of GFA’s celebration of women’s football during the month of March that began with AFC Women’s Football Day on Mar. 8 and also included a Health and Wellness Fair for women, a roadside cleanup and bus stop adoption by the Guam U20 Women’s National Team, and The I.S.H. (Island Soccer Hunt) contest, among others. In the photo are, from left to right, GFA President Tino San Gil, VARO’s Guen Belandres, GFA Technical Director Sang Hoon Kim, GFA Executive Committee member and Women’s Committee Chairperson Tina Esteves, VARO’s Latisha Taitague, GFA General Secretary Marvin “Ike” Iseke, GFA Women’s Football Development Officer Kimberly Sherman, GFA Grassroots and Social Responsibility Manager Ralph Awa, and GFA Referees Administrator Erlissa Delfin.