The Houston Dash announced today that the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Houston as their 2020 Verizon NWSL Community Shield beneficiary. This is part of [Verizon Community Shield](https://www.nwslsoccer.com/news/article/national-womens-soccer-league-and-verizon-launch-the-verizon-community-shield-competition), a partnership between the National Women’s Soccer League and Verizon during the 2020 National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) Fall Series. Each of the NWSL’s nine clubs will partner with programs in their community or small businesses, and the team with the most points at the end of the Fall Series will be awarded the Verizon Community Shield. The team with the most points at the end of the Fall Series will be awarded the Verizon Community Shield. $25,000 will be awarded to the community partner of the team with the most points, with the second-place team donating $15,000 and the third-place team $10,000. The NAACP is the largest and most pre-eminent civil rights organization in the country that strives to ensure a society in which all individuals have equal rights without discrimination based on race. “I think it’s a fantastic cause, the NAACP. The players have gotten together for it and it’s something they feel strongly about,” said head coach James Clarkson. “As the staff and the club, we’re right behind the players and totally support them. Hopefully we can win some games to get them some money.” The Dash will have the opportunity to play for NAACP Houston this weekend as they take on the Orlando Pride at BBVA Stadium for the first time this year. They will also host the North Carolina Courage on Sunday, Oct. 4 before concluding the Fall Series on Friday, Oct. 9 at Orlando. The Dash dropped a 4-3 thriller at North Carolina to open the Fall Series on Sept. 12. “We discussed a foundation that we wanted to choose based on a lot of research we did on the Houston community. Being such a diverse city, we knew there was a lot out there, but the NAACP stood out to us because it dives right into the community in a smaller aspect and then branches into bigger,” Dash captain Jane Campbell said. “For us, something as simple as voting rights or the racial biases in the business world – things that are little but can make an impact. We really wanted to help get rid of that and create change. The NAACP, to us, is going to do that. They’re a great organization to support and to play for.”

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