Detroit football teams get great surprise

DETROIT (WXYZ) - It’s not every day you get to help dozens of kids achieve a dream.

But on Friday, all 200 kids who play for the Detroit Westside Cubs, on all three championship football teams, are going to Orlando, Florida to play in the Junior Football National Championships.

This possible thanks to a massive donation on Friday, a check for $11, 830 made by the UAW and Ford Motor Company.

Darryl Nolen, a man who helps negotiate contracts for hourly employees at the UAW, delivered the donation check to head coach William Tandy of the Westside Cubs, saying, “on behalf of UAW Ford we want to give you this check to cover all expenses for those 26 kids… to cover the remaining balance owed.”

It was an emotional moment and to think it all started with 13-year-old Jawaun White of Detroit.
He wrote me last week, asking me to help get him the $455 he needed to travel with his team to the championship game.

That’s about the time I found out there were a total of 26 other football players and cheerleaders, who also didn’t have the money to make the trip.

And it’s not just the football players. The cheerleaders are going too.

Why would the UAW and Ford Motor Company care so much about a bunch of kids playing football from Detroit?

Because all of these kids get a lot more than just sports skills out of the Westside Cubs.

Several parents of those children told us their kids are constantly being urged to work hard in school, they learn discipline and they are pushed by their coaches to respect their parents.

The 200 kids from three different football teams will board a series of buses bound for Orlando, Florida, all of them bound and determined to win the national championship trophy.

Channel 7 Action News will keep you posted as to how they do in the game.