Spirit to participate in 'Toys for Tots' drive

Fans are encouraged to bring a new, unwrapped toy for donation

SAN DIEGO -– The San Diego Spirit has teamed up with KNSD 7/39 and the Marine Corp Reserves to help the less fortunate in the San Diego County area. Players and staff members will participate in the “Toys For Tots” drive on Saturday, December 14 at the San Diego Sports Arena.

The Spirit will be accepting donations of a new and unwrapped toy or gift at their Mission Valley offices located at 2650 Camino Del Rio North, Suite 200, San Diego, Calif., 92108. Donations will be accepted through December 20.

In addition to participating with “Toys for Tots,” the team also took part in the Junior Seau Foundation’s annual “Shop With a Jock” event held on Tuesday, December 4 at the Sports Arena Mervyn’s store. Spirit players Julie Foudy and Jaime Pagliarulo were paired with underprivileged children to help them shop for holiday gifts for their families. The children were chosen from San Diego County Boys & Girls Clubs to participate in the event.

Season tickets for 2002 are now on sale. Individual game ticket prices will be announced at a later date. For more ticket information, please contact the Spirit’s ticket office at 1-877-4SOCCER (1-877-476-2237) or 619-692-9872, or visit the club’s Web site at sandiegospirit.com.

The San Diego Spirit is a charter member of the Women’s United Soccer Association (WUSA), which features eight teams across the United States. The WUSA concluded its inaugural season with an average of 8,103 fans per game and a neutral-site championship game crowd of over 21,000. The San Jose (Bay Area) CyberRays claimed the league’s first Founders Cup Championship with an exciting 3-2 penalty kick win over the Atlanta Beat.