Charger Girls workshop approaches

Jennifer Rojas
Chargers.com

SAN DIEGO – When you think of the Charger Girls, images of beautiful women dancing and shaking gold pom-poms in front of 70,000 fans at Qualcomm Stadium comes to mind. But being a Charger Girl is more than the glitz on game day. The Chargers Girls spend much more of their time away from the field reaching out to the community.

“We expect the complete package in a Charger Girl,” said Charger Girls Director Lisa Simmons, who will oversee the April auditions. “We not only look at talent, performance and showmanship elements, but also for their passion to give back to the community.”

One of its largest programs, the Junior Charger Girls, allows girls ages 7-to-15 to learn a dance routine from the Charger Girls and perform on the field at halftime of a Chargers game. Since its inception in 1999, Junior Charger Girls has raised nearly $1 million for the Chargers Community Foundation and the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

“In just the last decade alone, the Charger Girls have raised nearly $400,000 to grant wishes for San Diego kids,” Make-a-Wish Foundation of San Diego President and CEO Chris Sichel said. “But they do so much more than raise money … they have brought hope, strength and joy to our wish kids, shared their hearts time and time again and serve as true role models to the many young ladies who participate in the Junior Charger Girls program. The Charger Girls are an amazing group of talented, caring and dedicated leaders in our community.”

To 15-year-old Make-a-Wish recipient Darren Sharks, the Charger Girls hold an even more special place in his heart. After learning of Sharks’ fight with cancer and his selfless wish of providing new uniforms to his football team at Patrick Henry High School, the Charger Girls invited him to be their water boy for the 2010 season.

“The experience is something I can never forget,” Sharks said. “I met so many new people and had the best time working with the Charger Girls. It was just fun. I’m also happy my story and my wish made such an impression on them. My ultimate goal is to help others and hopefully along the way change people’s way of thinking from “I” to “we”.”

Each year the Charger Girls select one organization to benefit from its calendar sales. The selected non-profit receives a percentage of the calendar sales, which can be as much as $10,000. Past recipients include the American Cancer Society, American Diabetes Association, Rady Children’s Hospital, Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

“The annual swimsuit calendar is a great tool to help raise awareness of the great work organizations like the American Cancer Society and Rady Children’s Hospital do in the community. We’re happy to help in their effort in any way we can,” Simmons said.

Aside from preparing for their performance on game days, the Charger Girls make more than 300 community visits a year to homeless shelters, convalescent homes, hospitals and military installations. They also support causes like Becky’s House whose facilities provide transitional housing programs for survivors of domestic violence, and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation by participating in mentor programs and walk-a-thons.

The Charger Girls work hard, committing themselves to being ambassadors of goodwill in the community as well as entertaining crowds on game day.

Charger Girls auditions are set for April 3-7 at University of San Diego’s Jenny Craig Pavilion. A March 13 workshop will prepare dancers for the auditions. For more information or to register for the workshop and auditions, visit http://www.chargers.com/charger-girls/index.html.