‘Feels like a real-life movie’: Readers responded, and the George Washington cheerleaders are going to nationals

They’re going to Dallas.

After reading about the George Washington cheerleaders — the first Philadelphia School District cheer team to earn a berth on the national stage — Inquirer readers stepped up big time, donating more than $30,000 in just a few days to ensure the kids will be able to compete in January.

People with connections to the Northeast Philadelphia school were moved to chip in. Politicians wanted to help out or recognize the students. But mostly, folks who donated to the high school squad were strangers moved by the team’s talent and hard work, and by what the students represent for a city sorely in need of good news.

Though the team is relatively new to competitive cheer and lacks many of the advantages its peers have, it persisted through COVID-19 and steadily improved, earning a semifinal spot at states this year and a bid to nationals, scheduled for January in Dallas.

“This feels like a real-life movie, with the best of our young people on a national stage,” said City Councilmember Helen Gym, who will soon honor the team with a resolution. “I love this story, this team of young people who are finding joy and excellence in building this cheer team.”

Team members were learning new stunts and choreography at a two-day cheer clinic — paid for by months of their own fund-raising — when the story was published and their campaign, administered by the school system’s nonprofit arm Fund for the School District of Philadelphia, exploded. Veronica Hayes and Michele Sorkin-Socki, their coaches, were bombarded by text messages, calls, and social media notifications.

“We were trying not to be on our phones, we were at camp, but the comments and the positivity just kept coming in,” Sorkin-Socki said. “We were so surprised by the outpouring; it happened so quickly.”

The $30,000 figure was the baseline to get the team to Dallas: money that will cover the basics — hotel, airfare, competition fees. But the generosity of those who have reached out in the last week has allowed team members to dream a little bigger.

They will also have pompoms (the team now doesn’t have enough for every member), travel bags for the students who now haul their gear around in trash bags, and paid-for music rights for competition routines and equipment, the coaches said.

The whole thing feels a little surreal to team member Erica Pierre.

“I never, ever thought that we’d make it this far,” said Pierre, a senior. “It hasn’t really hit yet: We’re actually going on a plane with our team to Dallas.”

Antonios Pitsakis, the assistant principal who’s been helping the coaches coordinate fund-raising and the trip to nationals, said he never doubted the team would find a way to nationals, but the speed with which it came together after Inquirer readers learned about the students’ plight was dizzying — especially to the kids.

“They had brave faces, but deep down, they thought this wasn’t going to happen,” said Pitsakis. “This just shows, with all the stuff going on in the city, we give people hope.”

Even amid the joy of the accomplishment and the support the team is garnering, the Tuesday shooting outside Roxborough High that claimed the life of 14-year-old football player Nicolas Elizalde and wounded four others weighs heavily on the team and the school.

So, the cheer team is now raising money to benefit Roxborough. And though the demands on the team have lessened, the cheerleaders will still keep up lollipop and doughnut sales, too, to support themselves and others.

“Everybody has to do their part, and they will — they have a responsibility to the team,” said Sorkin-Socki.

“The financial pressure was a lot,” said Hayes. “And now it’s lifted, and it’s time to grind and put this to work, to focus on our athletes and not figuring out how to get them to Dallas.”

Janet Rosenzweig graduated from George Washington in 1972 and is part of a committee planning her class’ 50th reunion. After reading about the cheer team, the reunion committee voted to donate $500. The team is a credit to the school, she said.

“We love the fact that they saw this opportunity to see the world a little bit bigger than Northeast Philadelphia,” said Rosenzweig.

Bob Brady, the former congressman and chairman of the Philadelphia Democratic Committee, reached out to the team the day he read about its plight. Brady wants to help with “whatever they need,” he said.

The George Washington cheerleaders, Brady said, “are representing our city and we need to make them proud — as proud as we are of them. They’re worth it.”

Roland Williams is new to the squad, a football player recently recruited to help bolster the team. He’s in awe of how hard his teammates work, he said, and excited to help them shine on a national stage. But now he’s also blown away that what they’re doing makes people happy.

“It’s great to think that everyone from the city is supporting us,” said Williams.