To the Supporters and Friends of the Rich May Field,
As we reflect on 2024 – we are pleased to report that interest and usage at the Rich May Field has returned to and surpassed pre-COVID numbers.
The community field users – both soccer and rugby organizations are “back” which allows kids to return to practice and games. The field is busy on school days from 7:30 am to 3:00 pm as Ravenswood Middle School uses the field for PE. We are happy to work with the new Ravenswood Middle School principal, Dr. Cristian Miley, who is committed to accountability and opportunity for all.
Here’s an update:
Daily Magic: From 3pm – 5pm, EPATT (East Palo Alto Tennis and Tutoring) supervises an important academic program for Ravenswood School District and by 5pm the sports user groups – players, coaches and families – arrive. Practices go until 9:30 pm most days, when the lights go off. Please come and visit during this time – it is magic! On weekends, there are both soccer and rugby games, tournaments and practice. The field allows EPA players to enjoy “home field advantage” during their tournaments.
Financials Holding Strong: Our financial numbers continue to improve as the field is rented to community sports organization from East Palo Alto, who pay user fees. We increased our field rental fees March 1, 2024, for the first time since opening the field in 2016 to $50 per hour – far less than surrounding community fields.
Funding the Magic: Our Field Angel Program, individuals who have each committed $25,000 for 5 years ($5000 per year) makes it possible for us to close the monthly deficit between revenue and operating expense. The deficit is by design as the Rich May Board is committed to keeping field rental fees within the reach of our community field users.
Team Angel Program: We will be introducing a new program, which gives donors an opportunity to sponsor a team, paying for yearly field rental costs.
· Brick program: The RMF Brick program continues and it is easy to buy a brick at https://www.bricksrus.com/donorsite/richmayfoundation .
· Foundations Help: We are honored to have received grants for the field from the Palo Alto Weekly Holiday Fund, Palo Alto Community Fund and the Olympic Club Foundation.
· Individual Donors: We are grateful to the many individual donors who contribute and believe in the value of sports life lessons for both girls and boys.
· Thanks to the Olympic Club Foundation, we purchased much-needed bleachers for the field and a portable battery-operated Rich May scoreboard, available for games.
Field Replacement and Maintenance: In 2024, we will focus on the upcoming turf field replacement, scheduled for 2026. It is hard to believe the field has been in use since 2016. The average life of a turf field is 10 – 12 years. Much to our amazement. the cost has escalated to approximately $1,000,000 to replace the field in today’s dollars. The Million Dollar field replacement campaign is starting, as board members are seeking significant pledges before we announce the campaign in February 2025. Our donor list includes past donors, EPA corporate neighbors, law enforcement, elected officials, and field user groups and teams. Working together, the board believes that we can ensure a sustainable future for the field and East Palo Alto community. The replacement trees planted in the fall of 2023 by Canopy www.canopy.org continue to grow. A plaque by one of the trees is planned to honor Father Goode, and will be installed on Officer Rich May’s birthday, May 9.
Donor and Board Thanks and Celebration: We held a very special event on Thursday, October 17, “the Force vs. the Future” featuring EPA Police Chief Jeff Liu’s team of law enforcement and city staff playing against the Ravenswood Soccer Team. The Force won – this time – teams are looking forward to a rematch as the event was so successful that all agreed this should be a Rich May Annual event. All participants received commemorative tee shirts, and medals, families enjoyed dinner from an EPA food truck, and participated in the San Jose Earthquakes street team ‘kicks for the Quakes”. For photos see www.richmayfoundation.org and for video see
KTVU: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xR7lDDmk6rY
KRON: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkslSXHfKcs
We employed the services of a social media guru – Gregory Collins to help raise the visibility of the Rich May Field with rugby and soccer lovers. See facebook https://www.facebook.com/richmayfoundation/ and instagram https://www.instagram.com/richmayfoundation/ and keep in touch.
RMF board members continue to hold office hours on Tuesdays. with more scheduled in the spring. This is a chance to see the magic of the field in action. Just let us know you are coming by emailing acribbs@basoc.org
Focusing on Our Purpose: We are here to assist the field users in keeping kids (boys and girls) busy, active and (hopefully) out of trouble and away from negative influences that, unfortunately, can be common among youth with nothing to do and nowhere to go.
You share our vision for the Rich May Field and its reasons to exist. With your help, we have been able to do something that we had been told, repeatedly, would never happen – build a first-rate facility and operate it successfully. Thank you!
RMF Endowment: It is up to all of us to make sure that we have the funds necessary to sustain this operation. Accordingly, we have established an endowment program to ensure the Rich May Field will be sustainable and deliver programming to the youth of East Palo Alto on a field that will be replaced every 8 – 10 years.
Several ways to contribute to the new endowment called Rich May Foundation
1. Donate directly from your stock account at Schwab.
Rich May Foundation Account at Schwab: 54183865
Schwab Phone number is 650.614.2024.
2. If your account is not at Schwab, use a Charitable Gift transfers form.
3. If wire transfer, contact either President Frank Merrill or board member Anne Cribbs, acribbs@basoc.org for transfer information.
4. If check, send to RMF, 64 Moulton Drive, Atherton, CA 94027
Thanks for Keeping the Magic Alive: And to our donors and supporters, thank you for always supporting The Rich May Foundation and understanding the value of sports for all youth. As usual, we welcome your contributions and thank you again for the impact you have made in the past. Our best wishes for a happy holiday season and health, peace and joy for the coming year.
With our thanks, The Rich May Foundation Board of Directors:
Frank Merrill, President
Tami McMillan, Secretary
Bret McMillan, CFO
Dennis Burns, Retired Palo Alto Police Chief
Paul Simko, Entrepreneur
Anne Warner Cribbs OLY, Bay Area Sports Organizing Committee, CEO
Les DeWitt, St. Francis Youth Club www.richmayfoundation.org