Cheer Champs Fundraise For The Finals

By LISA REISMAN | New Haven Independent

New Haven Steelers Cheer and Dance Team Co-Captain Timilia Thomas wants to put New Haven on the map as a mecca of cheer. 

With her squad recently taking home a state championship, that goal could soon be a reality.

“We’re going to make history,” said Timilia, a freshman at Hillhouse, who was surrounded by her eight yellow-and-black-clad teammates, ages 12 through 15, on a recent afternoon at Pizza House on Howe Street.

That opportunity to make history, however, is contingent on raising a whole lot of money.

$10,000, to be precise, to help cover the costs of transportation, lodging, and competition fees to get to and participate in the Pop Warner National Cheer and Dance Championships in Orlando, Florida in early December. That’s when and where competition from the nation’s top teams awaits. 

To raise the necessary funds, the Lady Steelers, as they’re known, have set up a GoFundMe page.

To help the cause, Eat Up Foundation’s Kristen Threatt and Brian Burkett-Thompson, as well as New Haven’s Tyler Booker, who’s an offensive lineman at the University of Alabama, joined the team’s pizza party and presented the Lady Steelers with a $1,500 check.