July 25th, 2025 – Stories of memorial legacies, brutal honesty, and communities refusing to give up. Provided by our good friends at GoFundMe. All stories are linked directly to GoFundMe pages.
Sometimes the most powerful stories in youth sports aren’t about winning championships. They’re about honoring memories, rebuilding from nothing, and being refreshingly honest about what it takes to keep kids playing. This week’s Feel Good Friday celebrates the communities that refuse to let obstacles, tragedy, or even theft stop young athletes from pursuing their dreams.
This Week’s Inspiring Headlines:
⛳ Golf Learning Center Built for Kids Without “Trust Funds or Polo Shirt Collections”
🏈 Championship Youth Football Team Gets Community Boost for Safety Equipment
🥍 $125K Scholarship Fund Created in Memory of Standout Teen Athlete
🏒 Michigan Hockey Team Makes Brutally Honest Fundraising Ask
💪 National Champion Does 1,376+ Pushups to Support Girls in Sports
🚔 Pop Warner Team Rebuilds from Nothing After Leadership Theft
⛳ Making Golf Accessible, One Swing at a Time
Before he passed away, Tucker Hodgkins loved golf more than just about anyone else ever did. He brought energy, laughter, and chaos to a game that traditionally discourages all three.
“He was the guy telling a story mid-swing, chirping his friends during their putts, and somehow managing to lose a club without ever noticing,” Stephanie Kinsman wrote on GoFundMe. “He played fast, talked faster, and made every round feel like a party you were lucky to be invited to.”
In Tucker’s memory, his friends and family are working with the Maine State Golf Association to build a non-profit golf learning center in Tucker’s hometown of Freeport. The goal is for kids of all backgrounds, especially those without “a trust fund or a polo shirt collection,” to get a chance to play.
“We’re doing what he would’ve done: paying it forward,” Kinsman wrote. “We’re collecting donations to support this incredible cause in his name, giving kids the same love for golf (and life) that Tucker gave to all of us.”
Their GoFundMe has raised more than $14,000 towards their $18,000 goal to get the Tucker Hodgkins Golf Education Room under way.
🏈 Champions Deserve Champion Equipment
The Southside Jets, a youth football team in Houston, is coming off a Super Bowl winning season. Expectations for the upcoming Fall are high, but despite their skill, this team lacks the basics. They started a GoFundMe asking for help to get updated helmets and pads to keep their players safe, as well as new uniforms fit for champions.
The community quickly rallied to help the Jets hit their $5,000 fundraising goal. Donors were drawn to the program’s message that this isn’t about tackles and touchdowns. It’s about something far more important.
“The Southside Jets are more than just a football team. We’re a family, a legacy, and a force in our community,” Patrick Martin wrote on GoFundMe. “Your donation is an investment in our players’ future, not just as athletes, but as leaders.”
After reaching their fundraising goal, Martin posted an update thanking all of the donors and reminding them that their support means the world to these boys and will allow them to take the field with pride and confidence.
🥍 A Legacy Built in One Week
Brandon Gmelin, an 18-year-old standout high school athlete in his hometown of Ridgefield, Connecticut and a soon-to-be lacrosse player at Dickinson University, died in an unfortunate landscaping accident. Just one week later Brandon’s memory has fueled a movement that will change the lives of so many young athletes in his hometown.
Brandon’s family started a GoFundMe to start a scholarship to be awarded every year to a graduating Ridgefield multi-sport student athlete who exemplifies Brandon’s generosity, empathy, and team-first mindset. In just one week, that GoFundMe has raised more than $125,000 from nearly 600 individual donors.
Brandon’s family is now expressing their gratitude to the community for keeping their son alive in a way he always existed: supporting his teammates.
“Thank you for keeping Brandon’s memory alive. Thank you for celebrating who he was and what he stood for,” Daniel Gmelin wrote on GoFundMe. “And thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for helping us continue the quiet, meaningful impact he had on everyone around him.”
The Brandon Q. Gmelin Memorial Scholarship will help many young athletes for many years to come. The hope is it will produce student-athletes like Brandon who understand that being part of a team wasn’t just about scoring goals. It’s about supporting each other, growing together, and creating space for everyone to succeed.
🏒 Finally, Someone Said It Out Loud
People say a lot about honesty: It’s the best policy. It goes a long way. It resonates. All of that is true for this next fundraiser. The Metro Jets White 14U out of Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan is asking for help in the most honest way you could imagine.
“Hockey is expensive and fundraisers are the worst,” Kelly Miotke wrote on GoFundMe. “We said it. We all know it.”
Miotke is honest about the reality that the old ways of fundraising for youth sports just don’t appeal to most people. No one wants to give up their Saturday morning for overpriced pancakes, eat another plate of dry spaghetti, buy another candle, or awkwardly dodge a kid asking for donations outside the ice rink. That’s why this team, like so many others, is turning to GoFundMe.
“So this year, we’re keeping it simple: click, donate, done,” Miotke wrote. “No junk drawers full of fundraiser leftovers. No guilt. Just helping some great kids chase big hockey dreams.”
The team is hoping to raise $10,000 on GoFundMe to cover an entire season of travel expenses, equipment repairs, and tournament fees. They are hopeful they will hit their goal, but say they reserve the right to break out the spaghetti.
💪 Pushing Through Pain for a Purpose
Kortney Olson, a national armwrestling champion and state jiujitsu champion from Nevada, is on the hook for a lot of pushups. She started a GoFundMe where people can donate to her “Reps for the Revolution!” initiative. This will support “The GRRRL Project,” the nonprofit Kortney founded to help girls aged 7 to 17 stay in sports, build confidence, and become future leaders.
Here’s Kortney’s challenge: for every dollar donated, she does a pushup. So far she’s on the hook for 1,376 pushups. That’s after just seven days of fundraising. But no matter how many pushups she has to do, Kortney won’t quit. She’s driven by the knowledge that too many girls drop out of sports because of financial pressures, so she’ll endure the pain to keep them on the field.
“For many girls, especially those from underprivileged backgrounds, the opportunity to play is far from guaranteed,” she wrote on GoFundMe. “Whether due to financial barriers, lack of access to facilities, or cultural stigma, too many young women are forced to give up sports before they’ve had the chance to experience its full benefits. We exist to change that.”
For this cause Kortney is willing to suffer. She knows each time her sore arms lift up her exhausted body, The GRRRL Project lifts up another girl to new heights. People who want to support Kortney can even pledge to make recurring donations on GoFundMe to keep her pushup challenge going.
🚔 Rebuilding from Rock Bottom
Albany Pop Warner has undergone some leadership changes. The league is missing equipment and money, both of which it is believed were stolen by the league’s prior leadership. Albany Police is investigating, meanwhile, the league needs to rebuild ahead of the upcoming season slated to start August 1.
The need is urgent for the organization that serves 150 young people, from age of 5 to 12, on its football and cheer teams. They need everything. Helmets, pads, uniforms, money for practice fields, insurance, and transportation. They are pretty much starting from scratch.
“What should be an exciting time for our young athletes has instead become a race to rebuild from the ground up,” APW Football wrote on GoFundMe. “Football has always been more than just a game for our players. It’s about teamwork, discipline, confidence, and community.”
They know it’s a big ask, but these kids did nothing wrong and they don’t deserve to lose something they love because of the selfishness of others. So, they started a GoFundMe hoping to raise $5,000. Enough just to get them started and make sure the kids don’t miss out.
This program has a long way to go, but the combination of a mission to support local youth and support from a caring community can get them to the finish line that much sooner.
“Every dollar helps. Every share matters. With your support, we can give our athletes the season they deserve and rebuild a program our community can be proud of,” APW wrote. “Thank you for standing with us.”
The Power of Starting Over
This week’s stories share a common thread about new beginnings. Whether honoring someone’s memory, being honest about challenges, or literally rebuilding from nothing. Each story proves that sometimes the most important victories come not from perfect circumstances, but from communities willing to step up when things are hardest.
From Tucker’s golf legacy to Albany’s fresh start, these stories remind us that youth sports create something more valuable than trophies: they build communities of people who refuse to let young athletes’ dreams die, no matter what obstacles stand in the way.
