Carlsbad (KTGV)- A youth soccer club in Carlsbad was left with nothing after someone stole their van full of equipment. Now the community is stepping in to help, and the director says he is grateful for the overwhelming support.
FC Golden State youth soccer club has been serving the Carlsbad community for nearly five years.
“We have about 140 kids, and together we have about nine teams,” says Founder and Director Mindes Dorlean.
Dorlean says he went out of town to visit family before the Thanksgiving holiday. He left the club’s van in its usual parking spot at his condo complex on Hosp Way. When he returned last Monday, hours before a scheduled soccer camp, the van was gone.
“Everything that we used to train was inside the van,” says Dorlean. “When it was missing that morning, we couldn’t; we stopped everything pretty much.”
He says the stolen van and equipment is a $40,000 loss.
Flyers were put up around the condo complex asking for neighbors to be vigilant.
“It’s usually pretty safe in here,” says Dorlean. “Not much going on in here, so it was one of those things you didn’t see coming, really.” He lives in a gated community where a code is needed to gain entry.
“I was very disappointed. I was very disappointed. It was kind of like a violation of your privacy.”
A parent started a GoFund Me page. As of Monday evening, community members had already donated nearly half of what it would cost to replace everything.
Dorlean says he’s extremely grateful for the community’s help.
