Scotland's traveling fans, the famed Tartan Army, have donated nearly $30,000 to charities in Providence, Rhode Island as a thank-you for hosting them during the World Cup. When the draw sent Scotland to play near Boston and many fans found hotels there unaffordable, they based themselves in Providence instead, with a local group dubbed the Providence Tartan Army helping roughly 5,000 to 10,000 supporters find cheaper lodging. The fans repaid that hospitality in cash and goodwill.
The donations break down across three causes: $10,000 to the cancer unit at Hasbro Children's Hospital, $10,000 to a grassroots soccer program getting underprivileged Rhode Island kids into the game, and $6,500 to the Rhode Island Highlanders Pipe Band to fund a program teaching children to play the bagpipes for two years. The hospital gift is the largest single donation in the Tartan Army's history, presented during a downtown march.
The generosity is a long-running ritual, not a one-off. "Since 2003, every away game, that's 112 consecutive, we donate money to a children's charity," organizer Ally Henry said. The fans raised the money through t-shirt sales and charity portions of their team-bus tickets.
Sources: The Boston Globe, WPRI, Bleacher Report.
Scotland's traveling fans, the famed Tartan Army, have donated nearly $30,000 to charities in Providence, Rhode Island as a thank-you for hosting them during the World Cup. When the draw sent Scotland to play near Boston and many fans found hotels there unaffordable, they based themselves in Providence instead, with a local group dubbed the Providence Tartan Army helping roughly 5,000 to 10,000 supporters find cheaper lodging. The fans repaid that hospitality in cash and goodwill.
The donations break down across three causes: $10,000 to the cancer unit at Hasbro Children's Hospital, $10,000 to a grassroots soccer program getting underprivileged Rhode Island kids into the game, and $6,500 to the Rhode Island Highlanders Pipe Band to fund a program teaching children to play the bagpipes for two years. The hospital gift is the largest single donation in the Tartan Army's history, presented during a downtown march.
The generosity is a long-running ritual, not a one-off. "Since 2003, every away game, that's 112 consecutive, we donate money to a children's charity," organizer Ally Henry said. The fans raised the money through t-shirt sales and charity portions of their team-bus tickets.
Sources: The Boston Globe, WPRI, Bleacher Report.
