‘Survivors’ kick in to KO AIDS
From lancasteronline.com
By Michael Ryan
Intelligencer Journal
LANCASTER COUNTY, PA - More than a dozen “Survivor” all-stars will join professional soccer players and coaches in Lancaster next month for a weekend of charity events benefiting AIDS-prevention programs.
Survivor all-star Ethan Zohn is holding the event to benefit his organization, GrassRoot Soccer, which trains professional soccer players to teach children about HIV/AIDS prevention.
Zohn will be joined Aug. 27 and 28 by many fellow all-stars, including his girlfriend, Jenna Morasca; fan favorite Rupert Boneham; “Survivor All-Stars” first-place finisher Amber Brkich; and Brkich’s fiancé, second-place finisher “Boston” Rob Mariano.
Also coming to support the cause are Harrisburg-born musician Jeffrey Gaines and comedians Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood from the television show “Whose Line is it Anyway?”
The two-day event kicks off Aug. 27 at Lanco Fieldhouse, East Petersburg, and will feature soccer matches between “Survivor” all-Stars and professional players.
The highlight of the weekend will be a black-tie fund-raising dinner at Liberty Place featuring an auction, a musical performance by Gaines and a 90-minute improvisational comedy act by Mochrie and Sherwood.
Zohn played professional soccer in southern Africa, where he witnessed firsthand the devastation of HIV/AIDS and was deeply affected by the struggles of the children. Often grandparents had to care for them; many didn’t make it to their 15th birthday.
So when Zohn won $1 million for finishing first on “Survivor Africa,” he used his prize money to help found GrassRoot Soccer.
Early last year, Todd Hoffard, who met Zohn when they played professional soccer, began to work with Zohn’s foundation. Hoffard, an East Hempfield resident and national director of One on One Soccer, pitched the idea of a fund-raising event in Lancaster because he wanted to help Zohn in his efforts.
“Upon winning the Africa show, (Zohn) was awarded $1 million in prize money,” Hoffard said. “I was amazed and awestruck at the fact that after winning this money, he took it and helped found a charity.”
Hoffard will run the weekend’s soccer events, which will feature such stars as Lee Sharpe, formerly of England’s Manchester United; Terry Phelan, formerly of Republic of Ireland’s national team; Earl Barrett, formerly of the English Premiere team Everton; and former U.S. National Team member Dan Calichman.
“The event will be by far the biggest and best, which will not only benefit (Zohn’s) charity but also the Lancaster County AIDS Alliance,” he said.
Lancaster’s AIDS Alliance, Project Hope, will receive 10 percent of the money raised.
Tony DiCicco of the U.S. National Team Staff, and Thomas Rongen, head coach of the U.S. under-21 national team and former head coach of the Major League Soccer team D.C. United, will help with a coaching clinic.
Other men’s and women’s national team and professional players will join the pros on Aug. 27 to take on Zohn’s All-Star Survivors.
Game tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for children. Children under 5 are free.
Zohn, Boneham and possibly other All-Stars will join the professionals on the morning of Aug. 28 during a clinic for youth soccer players. In the afternoon, Hoffard and the soccer coaches will put on a clinic for local coaches. The morning session is $10 per person; the coaching clinic is $15 per person.
The idea for the fund-raiser started as a one-day event consisting of soccer clinics and a dinner. Terri Givens, event planner and media relations specialist, saw potential for the fund-raiser to explode, given the popularity of both soccer and the show.
“My fear is that the soccer match on Friday night will sell out really fast, because, in addition to the interest in soccer, ‘Survivor’ is watched in 150,000 households in central Pennsylvania,” she said. “We can only sell 4,000 tickets, but if the game sells out quickly, we will have two games with separate admissions so more people can come out and see their favorite ‘Survivor’ all-stars.”
A couple of lucky fans will get to participate in Survivor challenges with an all-star, and after the game, all fans will get a chance to have their pictures taken with some “Survivor” All-Stars, and there will be an auction of autographed game-worn jerseys and shin guards.
Givens said she is working toward getting some other fund-raising events off the ground.
“We are working toward raffling off a cruise and a car,” Givens said. “We’re hoping to work with a local Chevrolet dealer since Chevy is the sponsor of ‘Survivor.’”
The winner of the cruise will join Zohn and Morasca on a seven-day trip in the western Caribbean next April.
For tickets for the Aug. 27 games, stop by or call Lanco Fieldhouse at 560-0717. For an invitation to the Aug. 28 dinner, contact Terri Givens at 468-0845.
Tickets for the dinner cost $250. Proceeds from all the weekend’s events will benefit GrassRoot Soccer and Project Hope.