Grassroot Soccer’s Onion Bag - June 2008
GRS is doing oh so much good work … how do we cover it all in one Onion Bag? Here are some of our highlights from May.
Total Graduates: 239,319
Countries Working In: 14
New Funders/Projects: Thrive Foundation ($50k), Mulago Foundation ($50k), Abbott (for Malawi), USAID (for Kenya).
Other Key Happenings: Puma commits to sponsor the 2008 Dribble and donates $30k of GRS United Gear to sell (really cool stuff!). The Revolution agree to kick off the Dribble at halftime of their August 20th game against DC United.
Captain’s Corner
By Tommy Clark, Founder/CEO
Two weeks ago, I returned from a trip to South Africa energized and excited about the future for GRS. When the team sat around a table in Port Elizabeth just before Thanksgiving last year, we decided that one key to our success was building the capacity of local organizations to manage and deliver GRS state-of-the-art program. To do this, the group agreed, we had to centralize our African operations. FIFA’s offer to build us a HQ in Cape Town was too good to pass up. And now, seeing the team in one location, working together, sharing ideas and executing on GRS’s mission was quite inspiring.
After my visit, I am convinced that the future could not be brighter for GRS. A fantastic team combined with a great product in a market demanding for our services makes for the opportunity of a lifetime.
Synergy and Scale in South Africa
By Zak Kaufman, Development Manager, Hanover, NH
Grassroot Soccer and Avusa (formerly Johnnic Communications) are embarking on a massive partner project that will not only bring the GRS curriculum to 250 schools around South Africa over the next three years, but also reinforce HIV prevention messages from GRS activities with age-appropriate TV and print media content that will reach millions. During mid-May, several key meetings were held in Johannesburg to push the project forward. Most notably, GRS and Avusa held a day-long workshop with numerous key stakeholders from the HIV prevention, mass media, and sports arenas. At this session, stakeholders shared best practices in school and media-based HIV prevention, social franchising, and program evaluation, as they charted out a framework for the initiative. Present at the workshop were representatives from GRS, Avusa Education, Medical Research Council, Africa Broadcast Media Partnership, loveLife, City Year, and SoccerLife. Excitement is growing in anticipation of the 3-year project, which aims to bring the GRS model to scale within South African schools, to develop groundbreaking media content that unites soccer and HIV prevention, and to create a replicable model for effective school and media-based HIV prevention interventions around Africa.
Exciting News about the Western Cape Corporate League
By Ryan Janks, Development Manager, South Africa
GRS has just entered a side in the Western Cape Corporate League. We are called “GRS Wednesday” (after that quality side: Sheffield Wednesday), which confuses the opposition because league matches are on a Monday night… a true professional uses every advantage at his disposal.
We have played two games and have gone unbeaten in both. Finds of the season have been: Vernon “Schmeichel” Roodt, our goal and bookkeeper, and Jean “LuaLua” Moslya, the buildings security guard who is as relaxed on the ball as he is lounging in his chair in the foyer of the offices. Other big performances from Taylor “Keano” Ahlgren who is leagues joint leading top scorer and scored a first half hat trick last night and Christiano Barkley who tied some poor dude in so many knots last night that the guy needed the jaws of life.
Finally and by no means lastly… to the ladies of GRS…. who kick some serious butt on the field! Leah “Nails” Dozier and Paola “Gattuso” Peacock Friedrich scared the living daylights out of our first opposition with their skills and guile such that they ended up whining at each other and the ref in our first game and last night the opposition asked Jess “Vinnie (Jones)” Cates-Bristol and Paola if they were pro’s!
We are now officially lying in second place on the log but only by goal difference. So Forza GRS Wednesday!!!
P.S. We saw quality cameos last night by Juergen “Psycho” Griesbeck of sfw and Oliver “Ballack” Noe of 180 degrees.
Kirk’s Impact Reaches Far and Wide
By Taylor Ahlgren, Training Manager, South Africa
One of Kirk’s last GRS graduates (Miranda Nyathi) was accepted to the African Leadership Academy (ALA). I talked to her at the interviews about 2 months ago, and she remembered almost everything about the program. Awesome girl! PE team - please pass my congrats to Ubuntu (Qondakele, JD, etc), who referred Miranda to the ALA.
As we continue working with kids, we should keep an eye out for exceptional candidates to refer to the ALA.
The Dribble is on FIRE
By Bill Miles, COO, Hanover, NH
The Chicago Fire that is … Ethan’s 2008 Dribble from Boston to Washington DC this fall is turning into the hit of the MLS. As you know, we kick off the dribble during halftime of the Revs-DC United game on August 20th. But before we get there, we will be featured at half time of the Chicago Fire game on July 17th (kids day in which they expect more than 10,000 kids). In addition, we are lining up dates to present our messages at the half times of games with the Columbus Crew, the San Jose Earthquakes, the New York Red Bulls and the DC United. For more info: www.grassrootsoccerunited.org.
By way of background, in an effort to unite kids around the world in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Africa, Ethan Zohn, GRS board member and co-founder, will dribble a soccer ball 550 miles from Boston to DC arriving on World AIDS Day. During the Dribble, Ethan will motivate 1000s of youth in the US to join him on his quest to help young Africans live HIV free. By raising money for GRS, in addition to furthering GRS’s mission, the US kids can win cool gear and, for the top 11 fundraisers, a trip to Africa in 2009.
In terms of the Revs game on August 20th, we are setting up a bus to travel down from the Upper Valley for the game and organizing a tailgate pre game for all GRS supporters. (Thanks Laura, Adam and Ryan for organizing.) Contact Lucas in the GRS office if you want to go to the game (a portion of all ticket prices go to GRS).
GRS is in ALL the Right Places
Kirk Friedrich presented to Grassroot Soccer at the Global Health Council’s annual conference in Washington DC last week. The conference brings together all of the major players in the world of Global Health and it was a tremendous honor to be invited to present our work. Kirk was also on a panel with Matt Streng from Mercy Corps and Pete Fleming from kick 4 Life. Both organizations are GRS implementers and were presenting the importance and value of the GRS methodology.
Leah Dozier is currently representing GRS at the 2008 HIV/AIDS Implementers’ Meeting in Uganda that is focusing on “Scaling Up Through Partnerships: Overcoming Obstacles to Implementation”. She is rubbing elbows with all the key players and funders in the HIV/AIDS Implementers’ arena and absorbing as much information as possible.
Next month, Zak Kaufman will represent GRS at 2008 International AIDS conference. He will be presenting his senior thesis on HIV prevention and his original work on a GRS inspired program with Haitian refugees in the Dominican Republic.
“Give us a Kick”
Here is what you can do to help:
- Buy a ticket. Get yourself to an MLS game this fall to see Ethan, hear the GRS soccer story and help motivate kids to make a difference.
- Make a connection. Do you know someone who would be interested in our story? If so, please connect us!