TO THE EDITORS:

In May, we signed up my stepson and my daughter for football and cheerleading with the Donegal Braves midget football organization. At sign-ups, we were handed a fundraiser notice. According to the governing bodies of the organization, this is a "mandatory" fundraiser.

We were leaving on a trip to the west coast the next day and, like all paperwork children are left responsible for, it got shuffled into a pile of papers and we forgot about it.

We had paid the registration fee, and also bought the "mandatory" items for cheerleading &tstr; Asics sneakers, spankies, socks. Total: $180.

The following week, we were given a letter from the president of the Braves organization, the treasurer and the head of fundraising. This letter stated that, since we had not participated in the fundraiser and hadn't handed the organization the $100 buyout for two children, our son would not be allowed to participate in any games until we did pay.

We approached the president and one of the other people whose name was on the letter and asked if they would tell our son he couldn't play because we didn't pay the $100. We were told, and I quote, "You can tell your son to leave his pads at the shed, and you can leave." Quite the answer from the head of a youth-volunteer organization.

I have to ask if I am the only one in Lancaster County who finds this whole "pay for play" system offensive.

Neither Lancaster Rec Football nor CBAA in Columbia make fundraising mandatory. And if you can't afford to pay, your child will not be turned away.

What happened to sportsmanship and teaching kids the game like the old days? I guess it's all about money.

I am heartbroken by a program I myself participated in for 10 years.

John D. Yohe
Marietta