Shrimp Boil raises money for NOLA Gold 7s & underserved youth

Friday night’s Shrimp Boil with NOLA Gold 7s was a big success, as fans and supporters peeled heaps of shrimp, guzzled down drinks and mingled with players in a night full of celebration and fun.

The Shrimp Boil sold out quickly as 100 guests gathered to help raise money for both the Gold’s trip to the RugbyTown 7s tournament, all while helping benefit underserved children in the Greater New Orleans Area – one of the Gold’s foundational tenets as an organization.

“Thank you very much to all of our sponsors and attendees to the shrimp boil. We thought the night was a great success. We’re very grateful and thankful for everyone who attended,” said NOLA Gold 7s coach, Taylor Howden.

“A special thank you to Derek Hoffman, Karen Sulzer, Garrick Huhner, Nina Romaguera and Victoria Stipelcovich for individually sponsoring players and J.R. Vendetto for manning the tools.”

With a portion of the proceeds, the Gold will be able to help fund the creation of the West Bank Barracudas, a high school aged club rugby team.

The Gold’s players and staff currently help support and coach multiple youth teams across the Greater New Orleans Area including Barbarians Rugby and Jesuit High School. Additionally, proceeds from the cash bar benefit the NOLA Gold Foundation which helps provide resources and opportunities for youth rugby in the area.

The NOLA Gold 7s team now heads north to Glendale, Colorado this weekend to compete in the RugbyTown 7s tournament from August 23-25 against teams from across the globe.

The Gold are slotted in Pool D of the competition, where they will first face off against CCIG Life West, The Collegiate All-Americans, the Lomaiviti Rugby Club USA and Marlborough Compheed 7s.

“It was such a fun event, the food was amazing and the atmosphere and environment was welcoming. Thank you to the NOLA Gold organization for allowing us this opportunity as players and a young coach to travel to RugbyTown 7s,” Howden said.

The Gold would like to thank Victoria Stipelcovich and Gulf Coast Bank for sponsoring the event & providing snack and gift-filled goody bags for the players going on the trip to Glendale, as well as Louisiana Seafood for donating 200 pounds of shrimp to this fun-filled event.