Two DePaul Latine student organizations came together for their third annual soccer match on Friday, May 15, in an effort to raise money for a local charity.
The Association of Latino Professionals for America, a student group for budding professionals and leaders, and Tepeyac, a student organization rooted in faith, chose to donate to Casa Central, a Latine social service agency in Chicago founded in 1954.
“They help out in our local community by giving out clothes, food, and I’m excited to grow our partnership,” said Miguel Rojas Palma, a senior and president of ALPFA.
The match attracted over 70 attendees, including the players themselves, according to Tepeyac leadership. Members of ALPFA and Tepeyac sold refreshments and snacks and held a raffle with prizes. All proceeds went toward fundraising for Casa Central.
Players for the DePaul Women’s Club Soccer team assisted by filling in as referees.
DePaul freshman Arabella Ruiz and junior Sofia Mullen volunteered as referees. They found out about the event from one of their teammates.
“Volunteering to me is about connecting and learning more about the community, especially for me, since I’m a freshman, I’m still new to everything around here,” Ruiz said. “So getting to volunteer, I feel more connected to my school.”
ALPFA won the game 5-0, but each team’s goal was met. Together, they raised $676 for the charity, according to Tepeyac’s president, Lesly Fernandez.
“We all pitched in, and we created this in mind for charity, so why not have fun while fundraising?” said Javier Garcia Medina, a DePaul senior and player for Tepeyac.
Palma said he was proud of his team’s performance.
“Our team fought till the end, and our amazing strikers scored their goals and did their job. Overall, a good team effort,” Palma said.
The referees were also impressed with the amount of spirit shown by both teams.
“There was hustle and grind and grit, which I love to see,” Mullen said.
Diego Galloza, former Tepeyac president and a recent DePaul graduate, said soccer served as a natural way to merge the Latine community through a shared cultural passion.
What students may not know is that the event was inspired by YouTube content creators.
Galloza said the concept of the match was inspired by the YouTube group “Sidemen,” who do their own charity matches.
Galloza, who graduated in November 2025, helped bring the event to life in 2024. He said that he felt the initiative was aligned with Tepeyac’s commitment to faith, culture and service. The process was difficult, but the organization was eventually able to work with Wish Field operations to reserve the turf, he said.
The partnership with ALPFA came about because of Galloza’s friendship with some of ALPFA’s executive board members. In its early stages, Tepeyac developed the event with the hope of helping a DePaul DACA recipient, Galloza said.
Now, three years later, group leaders are seeing their once small idea become a community tradition.
“Honestly, from the first year that we did it to now, you could see it’s grown a lot, and I’m excited to see how it’s gonna grow in the future,” Palma said.