New York Cosmos fans just don't support their favorite soccer team.
 
They also support some causes in the New York City area.
 
For the last several years, 5 Points and Brigada71 members have given their time and energy for several fundraising causes.
 
That has ranged from 5K and 10K runs that have raised money for cancer research, underprivileged communities, food and Thanksgiving meals and turkey giveaways, among other pursuits.
 
Long-time Cosmos fan Nicholas Alexandrakos has been a driving force behind many of these endeavors. Alexandrakos is a special education teacher and director of athletics at Robert Louis Stevenson School in Manhattan.
 
"I'm an educator," Alexandrakos said. "I am all about giving back. I'm all about second, third, fourth, and fifth chances and I can use athletics to make a useful impact on the local community. Now, the local community can be the school that I work in, it could be Manhattan, New York City, New York State. It could be the United States of America. It depends on the focus."
 
Fans supporting causes is a natural.
 
"I have combined various passions of mine," Alexandrakos added. "All I did was to combine my presence as a supporter, the supporter culture. The supporter culture gives back. It's our responsibility as New Yorkers to help out all of our neighbors. Unfortunately, too much of our time is spent looking upwards. It's more meaningful to help out those in need."
 
The 5 Points and Brigada71 have been among those who have given their time and energy to these causes and projects.
 
For example, on Sept. 7, three supporters participated in the T.E.A.L. 5K run for Ovarian Cancer, helping to raise $90.
 
On Oct. 8, they raised money for the Bedford Stuyvesant Community Association through a 5K and 10K run.
 
Supporters ran for the NY Cosmos Supporters Running Club, which "is focused on making meaningful change in the local community through athletics," Alexandrakos said.
 
Supporters usually run every four to six weeks.
 
"Often, when 5 Points supporters hear that I am running, they give me money to put towards the cause," Alexandrakos said.  When I first started out running, I was going out alone but recently a few friends have been joining me."
 
And there's more.
 
Brigada71 and the 5 Points has raised more than $500 for Club A Kitchen in Bushwick, Brooklyn.
 
And there are many more projects and causes in the works. On Halloween, head coach Alexandrakos took his RLS soccer team for a few hours of community service. Former Cosmos defender Jonathan Borrajo is his assistant coach.
 
On Tuesday, Nov. 26, 5 Points members will help out with Turkey Distribution Night at the Coney Island Lighthouse Mission, a soup kitchen in Brooklyn. Last year the Cosmos purchased turkeys and other food items associated with Thanksgiving for the CILM. Two years ago, the Cosmos set up boxes outside of MCU Park so fans could donate canned goods for CILM. The 5 Points have raised more than a thousand dollars.
 
When members heard there was graffiti written on the side of the building of the CILM headquarters, it went into action, sponsoring two local artists who put up an uplifting message instead. "It was really beautiful. Hope and love," Alexandrakos said. "It's really cool."
 
Alexandrakos sees the 5 Points, Brigada71, and any other Cosmos fans continuing to contribute in the months and years to come.
 
"I don't see this as something that has an off-button," he said. "For me, I see this as a quickly becoming a tradition for the supporters clubs of the New York Cosmos."