Seattle Sounders FC today announced that the club is launching a targeted relief effort in the fight against COVID-19. The organization is establishing the Seattle Sounders FC Relief Fund, aimed primarily at supporting individuals, non-profits and small businesses in the neighborhoods surrounding CenturyLink Field that have been adversely impacted by the postponement of the 2020 MLS season due to the current public health crisis. These districts include SoDo, Pioneer Square and the Chinatown-International District. The Hanauer Family is providing an initial investment of $500,000 to the fund.

“The Sounders were born here in Seattle over 40 years ago, and we wouldn’t be the club we have become without the support we’ve always found in this amazing and vibrant community,” said Sounders FC Majority Owner Adrian Hanauer. “Now, as our world faces the new and unprecedented challenges presented by COVID-19, it’s our responsibility to step up and give back to the community in a meaningful way. Through the Sounders FC Relief Fund, we aim to provide direct support to those who need it most. My mother and I are proud to be able to begin the funding for this incredibly vital project.”

SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC RELIEF FUND

The Sounders FC Relief Fund has been established to support individuals, non-profits and small businesses, primarily in the South Downtown neighborhoods of SoDo, Pioneer Square and the Chinatown-International District, all of which have been impacted by the club’s lack of matches at CenturyLink Field and Sounders FC’s Pioneer Square front office adapting to a work-from-home policy during the COVID-19 public health crisis. The fund is intended to support a range of needs, from groceries to rent assistance and monetary packages that will fund the following priorities:

• Direct support of resources to shift workers and service providers in and around CenturyLink Field, and in neighborhood businesses that support and serve fans on matchday.
   
• Direct resources to small business owners to pay their critical expenses during this crisis so that they can stay in business and keep their doors open.   
   
• Direct resources to non-profits that serve and support individuals and small businesses in the South Downtown neighborhoods of SoDo, Pioneer Square and the Chinatown-International District.

Those wishing to help can visit SoundersFC.com/COVID-19/ReliefFund to learn more and to donate. Further information for potential beneficiaries who are interested in accessing assistance from the Seattle Sounders FC Relief Fund will be added to this location in the coming weeks.

Additionally, RAVE Foundation is turning its fundraising efforts toward supporting children and families in RAVE target communities throughout King County with critical needs, including food and housing security. More information on this initiative from the official charitable arm of Sounders FC is being released in the near future.