Bellingrath Middle School Cheerleaders Raising Money for Camp
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The Bellingrath Middle School cheerleading team in Montgomery has high hopes of attending their first ever cheerleading camp next month. The team has been raising money to go to the camp but they’re still short about two thousand dollars.
There are 12 girls whose dream it is to go to a Universal Cheerleaders Association camp. They want to go to camp because they want to start competing and camp will teach them the necessary skills and stunts.
The Bellingrath Middle School cheerleaders practice 12 hours a week.
“We wake up early, we come to practice and we work extra hard,” says 12-year-old Antalesia Parks.
They’re trying to perfect cheers and jumps, doing them over and over and over again. But the girls want to get better, like the cheerleaders they often watch on youtube.
“They do certain things like they throw people in the air and do backflips so I would love to learn how to do a backflip,” says 12-year-old Shantoria Laprade.
So the girls are raising money to go to UCA cheer camp in Florida next month. It’ll be the first camp any of the cheerleaders has ever been to. They’ve been fundraising, washing cars and bagging groceries, and have four thousand dollars saved up. But they’re still short two thousand dollars.
“It would mean a lot to me because I would be happy to go with my cheerleading team,” says 11-year-old Anayah Thomas.
Head Coach Shawntara Jackson and Assistant Coach Johnise Thomas say the camp would provide the girls the experience of a lifetime, one that many other cheerleaders may take for granted.
“A high percentage of students at Bellingrath come from low income families so it’s difficult for them to pay for both camp and uniforms,” Jackson says.
“They’re just really looking forward to meeting other cheerleaders, getting outside of Montgomery,” says Thomas. “That’s another big thing that we wanted to show them, that there’s life outside of Montgomery.”
And the girls have a cheerleader of their own in their corner, Bellingrath Middle School Principal Ibahim Lee.
“Cheerleading camp is the one fold but then there are other things that they’re going to gain from this,” he says. “It’s going to be leadership, responsibility, how to be resourceful.”
“It would mean a lot because I’ve never been to cheer camp before so I don’t know what it’s like,” Thomas says.
If you’d like to donate to the Bellingrath Middle School cheerleaders and help them go to camp, you can make out a check or money order to Bellingrath Middle School.
