This cheerleading squad radiates pride and inspiration: Meet CHEER SF

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- When it comes to inspiration and entertainment, CHEER SF, an adult, all-volunteer cheerleading team, has amazed audiences for 45 years.

"Cheers, stunts, acrobatics, dances," said CHEER SF President Emeritus Nguyen Pham. "Whether the audience is a size of five people, or whether it's the size of 50,000 people, we always try to bring it and we show up for our community."

"Our mission is to inspire audiences through our performance and to give the money that we raise to groups that align with who we are, which is representing the LGBTQ community and beyond," said CHEER SF Coach and Team Manager Brittany Trammell.

Funds raised from performances support beneficiaries assisting people living with HIV/AIDS, breast cancer and other life-challenging conditions.

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"You see the money that you raise, and the impact that it has, and how we're able to amplify every dollar. We now have the Cheer for Life Foundation that takes all the money that our cheer staff raises, and we donate it every year to our groups that align with who we are," Trammell said.

Founded in 1980, the group originally started as the "Hayward Raw Rahs."

"It started with a group of gay men, whose friends and chosen family were dying because of the HIV /AIDS crisis," Pham said.

"They wanted to spread cheer, so they grabbed a bucket. They walked into the street and they said, 'We're here for you. We have pride and feelings for you. And if you feel so inclined, put some money in a bucket, and we're going to take those dollars, and we're going to give them to people who need it," Trammell said.

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The group eventually became CHEER SF. Their widespread success and philanthropic mission inspired other cities to get involved.

"A bunch of cities in the United States looked and said, 'Oh, my gosh, that's an amazing opportunity. We need that here. We want to spread joy. We want to spread cheer. We want to encourage people to be prideful and who they can be and support the LGBTQ community," Trammell reveals, "and so many cities wanted to join."

As a result, the Pride Cheerleading Association was founded to help teams all over the country start their groups. Looking ahead to the next 45 years, CHEER SF will continue to be a beacon of love and hope for the LGBTQ+ community.

"If there's anything that we are always in short supply of, it's joy and cheer and affirmation and making sure that everybody in our community feels seen and heard and celebrated," Pham said.

For more information, visit CHEER SF's website.