ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The Thomas A. Edison High School girls lacrosse team has rushed to the side of a family in need. The girls are raising money and rallying the community to prevent their teammate’s family from losing their home.
“They just rallied around us and got behind us. It’s been absolutely amazing and then, through them, it has spread through the entire lacrosse community across northern Virginia,” says Sara Dina, mother of the lacrosse team’s captain, 18-year-old Catherine.
The Alexandria family is on the financial brink, burdened by whopping medical bills. Sara and her husband, John, are blind. John has had serious medical problems since a 1990 accident ended his 22-year career as a New York City police officer. A delivery truck traveling at 75 mph plowed into his car. Two of Catherine’s three sisters also have major medical problems.
“We found out not quite three weeks ago that our home is being foreclosed on,” Sara says. “We just have no resources.”
During the family’s strife, the girls lacrosse team has swung into action to help its team captain and her family, running car washes and bake sales. Money the team raised to buy team jackets instead went to the Dina family.
“They said they wouldn’t be comfortable if one of their teammates didn’t have a home, if they just had some jackets,” says Samantha Shterengarts, head coach of Edison High School’s girls lacrosse team. “They are the most incredible group of young ladies.”
Some of the girls bought Catherine her prom dress, and they’ve offered her a place to stay if she loses her home. And, perhaps, most importantly they’ve rallied the community to donate to the family at a fundraising site they’ve set up.
The goal is to raise at least $80,000, which would head off foreclosure and allow the family to pay down some medical debt. As of Wednesday morning, more than $68,000 has been raised through the site.
“When the dust clears, we can hopefully breathe and have a fighting chance to stay in the clear,” Sara Dina says.
Coach Shterengarts says the team has really pulled together for its teammate.
“They’re more than a team; they’re a family,” she says.
And perhaps, not surprisingly, the team’s off-field efforts have bolstered the girls’ play on the field.
“They’re playing even stronger and more cohesively as a unit; I feel it’s helped our team grow a lot,” says Shterengarts.
The Edison team is off to a 2-1 start and is undefeated in its conference. Catherine Dina is the team’s leading scorer.
“She has a lot of heart; she is one of the strongest players in the Northern Virginia region. … She never gives up; no matter what the score is, she’s ready to keep going until we win that game,” Shterengarts says of Catherine.
Sara says the family hopes to raise enough money to block the foreclosure, then perhaps sell the house and rent a home that is more financially manageable.
“We have hope right now,” she says.
