Gioanna Cruz: From the South Bronx to Rio

Gioanna Cruz: From the South Bronx to Rio

Growing up in the South Bronx, Gioanna Cruz always dreamed of getting out and becoming a superstar athlete. “I was daddy’s girl and very close to my younger brother, and we were all really into football,” she says. “My goal for a long time was to be the first female player in the NFL.”

Gioanna’s dream changed a bit, though, when she discovered rugby during her sophomore year of high school at the Bronx Studio School. She loved that she could continue to play contact sports but not be judged for her gender, and her dedication to rugby spread to other areas of her life, including her schoolwork. “It allowed me to get away from all the family drama,” she says. “It made me want to work harder and show people that sport can make you a better person.”

Now a student at the American International College in Springfield, MA, Gioanna is a rising star on a rising team. Her coach plays on the national team and the school’s rugby program was recently upgraded from Division II to Division I status. Gioanna was also noticed by the national coach and invited to train with the national team at the Olympic training center in San Diego. She is raising money to cover the cost the of attending the camp this summer.

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What is Dreamfuel?

There is an assumption that all Olympians, Olympic hopefuls and elite athletes have sponsors.This is far from the case, as 85% of Olympic hopefuls’ income is less than 15k USD / year. 

Dreamfuel is the premier high-level crowd-funding platform specifically designed by and for athletes. We work with each athlete or athletic organization to tap into the community that surrounds them, thereby engaging new fans and supporters along the way. As a result, we are able to create and enhance a global community that will benefit the athlete’s direct needs as well as help to build a long- term fan base. 

Our goal is to provide athletes with a new revenue stream to support their incredible efforts outside of or in addition to the traditional means of sponsorships and governing body stipends.

The Dreamfuel Team

 

Emily White
NCAA Division I swimmer, artist and athlete manager. Deep experience with successful crowdfunding for both artist and athlete campaigns.

 

Cortney Harding
Experience developing partnerships for Soundrop, Superglued, Gumroad, official.fm, and ThingLink. Former Billboard music editor with a talent for developing relationships. Nine-time marathoner, crossfitter.

Emily Erdman
2013 Wellesley College grad with a BA in Computer Science. Part of the first all-female team to win the 2013 Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges — Northeastern Region (CCSCNE) programming contest. Member of the Northeast Select Side Rugby team for 2 years.