Screaming Eagles Cap Year of Giving With Holiday Party and Toy Giveaway

On Thursday, members of the D.C. United supporters club the Screaming Eagles capped off a year of DC SCORES giving with a holiday party and toy giveaway for poet-athletes at Hendley Elementary School. 

Members of the club joined DC SCORES staff at the event to give away almost 100 toys the club had gathered at the Screaming Eagles’ own holiday party earlier in the month. Delighted poet-athletes could pick gifts from a wide selection of toys ranging from soccer balls and stuffed animals to board games and LEGOs. 

The giveaway has become an annual holiday tradition for the Screaming Eagles, whose support for DC SCORES dates back to the club’s founding in 1995. The club raises funds for DC SCORES at D.C. United match tailgates, volunteers at fundraising events, and even supports a dedicated section for poet-athletes at D.C. United’s home stadium, Audi Field. 

This year alone, the club raised more than $18,500 for DC SCORES’ after-school soccer, poetry, and service-learning programs, which serve more than 3,500 kids at 68 schools. The donation total included a $5,000 match for DC SCORES’ Giving Tuesday campaign in which the Screaming Eagles doubled donations dollar for dollar up to the amount. 

“[The Screaming Eagles] has a long tradition of community service and DC SCORES fit right into our model,” says David Goodwin, a Screaming Eagles member and former club president who helped distribute toys at the Hendley party. 

The native Washingtonian says he supports the nonprofit as a way to give back to his hometown. “I have a tie to D.C. so I think the kids in D.C. deserve everything they can get,” he explains. “DC SCORES really provides wonderful programming.”

The Screaming Eagles’ support extends beyond DC SCORES’ regular programming, too. The club has ensured that DC SCORES is included in the wider Black and Red D.C. United supporters community by driving a Junior Supporters Program that brings poet-athletes to every home game at Audi Field. 

The Junior Supporters Program’s roots extend back to when D.C. United played its home matches at RFK Stadium and the Screaming Eagles set aside tickets in its section for local kids to attend games free of charge. 

When D.C. United unveiled the newly constructed Audi Field in 2018, the Screaming Eagles worked with the MLS club to ensure that DC SCORES poet-athletes had a dedicated section of the stands (Section 138) where kids and families could cheer on their soccer heroes at every single home match.

“Kids can come and experience the game, maybe for the first time in a professional environment, right next to all the flags and drums and chants and become lifelong [D.C. United] fans as a result,” says Goodwin.

Since DC SCORES was established three decades ago, that means plenty of new fans for Black and Red!

Founded in 1994 by a D.C. public school teacher, DC SCORES is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year. As part of the festivities, the nonprofit is embarking on a bold vision, known as Poet-Athlete City, to reach every Title 1 middle and elementary school in the District by 2030. 

“We love the idea of Poet-Athlete CIty and were thrilled to be able to support that,” says Goodwin. “The goal is to get in every school school that we can in the city — that’s an awesome goal!”

“The Screaming Eagles are the embodiment of the community of thousands of people who have rallied behind DC SCORES to ensure 30 years of incredible work in the District,” says Matt Berner, DC SCORES Development Officer for Individual Giving. “Go to any Screaming Eagles event, and you’ll encounter individuals who serve poet-athletes as volunteers, Advisory Council members, and donors.”

He added, “Seeing the joy they brought to these kids at Hendley today represents just how much the club has done for generations of families here in the District and demonstrates the deep impact DC SCORES supporters can have on the lives of young people in our city.”

“I hope their spirit of community investment inspires others to support DC SCORES this holiday season and spark that same joy that the Screaming Eagles did here today.”