Online donations help Robbins Eagles youth football tackle $12,000 in stolen equipment

Chicago Tribune

a day ago

Thanks to online donations, last season's undefeated Robbins youth football team will be able to replace $12,000 worth of equipment that was stolen from their storage container over the weekend.
The Robbins Eagles, a community sports organization that includes 200 football players and 100 cheerleaders, were incredibly excited to break ground on their first ever football stadium before the missing equipment was reported Sunday morning.
'We've been around since 1983 — the last time a youth football game was played in the town of Robbins was 1990,' Eagles coach Justin Harris said Wednesday.
Harris said 'the whole town is behind us' on the new $2 million stadium that was funded via state grants and is on track for completion in November.
'To have something this long lasting in a community like ours is a huge thing, not only for the kids but for our community as well,' Harris said about the organization. Despite their lack of a stadium, the Eagles have had success in recent years, winning all their games last season and competing in the American Youth Football League championship in 2023.
But their stadium groundbreaking event on Tuesday was overshadowed by the equipment theft reported Saturday night.
Coaching staff found football training equipment, shoulder pads and 60 helmets missing from the storage container outside of the Park District community center at 13800 South Trumbull Ave.
As their Aug. 23 season start date approaches, the Eagles knew they needed to seek community support to buy back the equipment they needed.
'Everyone in the community came together right when it happened that day,' Harris said. 'It was like, what can we we do to get these kids whatever they need to be able to play in the upcoming season?'
The organization set up a fundraiser on GoFundMe.com, which as of Wednesday afternoon had raised about $12,500, more than enough to replace the equipment that was stolen.
'It's been an unfortunate situation that kind of turned positive,' Harris said.
'I'm very grateful and very happy that these kids get to actually play in their home town instead of going everywhere else to play a game, not really having our own game.'
Robbins police continue to investigate the theft and believe it was planned, according to village Mayor Darren Bryant.
'We have to assume that somebody had to know what was in (the storage container),' Bryant said. 'It had to be someone who knew or had premeditated thought of what to do with an 8-year-old's helmet.'
Meanwhile, Bryant said he is planning next steps to uplift the community, as he hopes the new stadium at 3050 South Claire Boulevard along with a $30 million flood control project that is currently underway will boost development and attract more people to Robbins.
Preliminary ideas include adding a softball field to the same area and purchasing nearby land for commercial development, Bryant said.