By Jackie Devereaux 

Desert Hot Springs, Calif. - The Desert Hot Springs Eagles Football league scored big this past year when a local businessman donated a substantial amount of money to the league.  To acknowledge that generosity, the six teams presented Mark Crozier, the Founder and CEO of Royal Emerald Pharmaceuticals, with a framed jersey and helmet, along with a custom jersey with his name and favorite number seven before the start of the noon game last Saturday at the DHS High School football field. 

“Mr. Crozier has helped our organization out tremendously with donations from Royal Emerald Pharmaceuticals.  Since his donation in 2020-21, we have been able to recondition all our helmets, buy 50 brand new helmets. We haven’t been able to do that in years. We also had the opportunity to purchase 100 new shoulder pads with plans to order more for next season,” said Randy Miller, president of the DHS Eagles Football league.  

“The players and the parents really enjoy seeing the improvements we have been able to accomplish with the help from Mr. Mark Crozier and Royal Emerald. The kids get excited to put on a brand-new helmet for the first time. And that makes us happy. Now, they go to school proudly wearing their custom jerseys, telling their friends about their football and cheer teams,” Miller said.  

“We normally have about 80-90 kids in our program, but this season we have about 150 kids in the program. That’s a huge jump for us. I believe the new equipment and uniforms helped bring in new kids. We also made sure our cheerleaders were not forgotten. They got custom backpacks and jackets, and the girls were extremely excited to receive them,” Miller added. 

“We cannot thank Mr. Crozier enough for his generosity. With those donations, we have been able to have the best registration in the valley. We hope this will help us reach 200 athletes next season,” Miller said. 

Mr. Crozier’s donation of $45,000 over the past year and a half has enabled the DHS Golden Eagles to buy all the new uniforms and jerseys and new football equipment too. Crozier also donated substantial funds to the city’s Little League baseball, soccer and basketball teams. 

“It was so much fun,” Crozier said after receiving his gifts of appreciation. “I love seeing all the kids smiling in their new uniforms. They look like pros now.  I want to make sure that every child in town has access to youth sports. No child should be denied or deprived of entry into any sports league because of costs or fees.  Every child in Desert Hot Springs that wants to participate in youth sports now can.”