Parents in Sacramento, California, were outraged to find out that sex toy sales were being used as a fundraiser for a soccer team with an extensive youth program.
The startling fundraiser was sent to supporters of the Natomas Fútbol Academy via email and directed them to a website that sold adult toys and sexually-themed products. It was also posted on the team’s official Facebook page.
Natomas FA leadership secretary Wendy Hill defended the fundraiser and blamed the parents for it being taken down. She is also a “consultant” with the website that sells sexually-themed products.
“This is supposed to help bring in some money. Some parents are choosing to turn it into something super horrible,” said Hill to KCRA-TV.
She explained the nature of the products from the company that occasioned the furor.
“Pure Romance is a health and wellness company,” Hill said. “We provide education and products that help you from the moment you wake up in the morning until you fall asleep at night.”
The team took down the promotion after parents expressed their displeasure with the sexually-themed fundraiser.
“If there’s a backlash with this, and people are really unhappy about it, then we won’t do it again,” Hill explained.
A group of the parents of children in the soccer club issued a statement to KCRA about the controversy.
“After communicating with several other Natomas FA families, we feel that integrating a youth sports fundraiser with an adult toy vendor was ill-advised,” the statement read.
“We hope that the Natomas FA board will strongly consider ending this fundraiser with all due haste, as well as giving more thorough scrutiny to any and all fundraising campaigns moving forward,” they concluded.
Hill said that as much as $80,000 was raised by fundraising including those from the sex toy company sales in order to offset costs related to park rentals, coaches, and running the lights.
She had a final statement for the parents upset by her fundraiser.
“We’re really sorry that this isn’t something that you support,” she said. “We’ll try to do a better time next time.”
Here’s a local news report about the shocking fundraiser:
Sex toy sales for a Sacramento soccer club. Parents cry foul over ‘ill-advised’ fundraiser
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