World AIDS Day
SOCCER CELEB AND SURVIVOR: AFRICA WINNER ETHAN ZOHN BRINGS 3-MONTH, 550-MILE GRASSROOT SOCCER UNITED DRIBBLE, LANDMARK CAMPAIGN TO FIGHT HIV/AIDS, TO A CLOSE IN WASHINGTON, D.C.
Nation’s Capital is the Stage for Ethan Zohn, with Ben Olsen of D.C. United, Rebecca Moros of Washington Freedom and Scores of Soccer-Playing Kids, Taking the Ball Across the Finish Line in a Youth Movement That ‘Dribbled’ Seven States & Dozens of Cities and Townships, Raising $150,000+ to Fight HIV/AIDS in Africa
Full Recap of the Campaign, Including Ethan’s Complete Route and Blog, Available at www.grassrootsoccerunited.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. | NORWICH, VT (December 1, 2008)—Grassroot Soccer, the nonprofit organization that uses the “power of soccer” in the fight against HIV/AIDS, culminates its global youth movement, the Grassroot Soccer UNITED Dribble, this afternoon, World AIDS Day, on the National Mall. Organization co‐founder Ethan Zohn (winner, Survivor: Africa), flanked by D.C.‐area celebrity athletes and youth soccer players, will take a last lap, from the Thomas Jefferson National Memorial to Franklin D Roosevelt Memorial Park, ending an extraordinary campaign that has stretched 3 months and 550 miles, raised $150,000 for Grassroot Soccer and its HIV/AIDS prevention curriculum, and inspired countless numbers of kids to take action against the disease at home and in other parts of the world. The last lap will be touched off by a press conference, during which Congressperson TK and the Dribble will be commended by the National Soccer Hall of Fame and Museum.
The Grassroot Soccer UNITED Dribble, which took Ethan and his team through the main streets and back roads of Providence, New Haven, New York City, Newark, Philadelphia, Baltimore and the many townships in between, saw dozens of youth clinics, school appearances, and rallies, as well as a celebrity soccer match with the likes of Hollywood United FC players Anthony LaPaglia, Brandon Routh and Gilles Marini, and pro players from the U.S. and around the world, like Alexi Lalas and Youri Djorkaeff. After a knee injury sustained during a fundraising match in New York City, Ethan called on celebrity friends to help out once more, with World Series MVP Philadelphia Philly Cole Hamels subbing in and leading local youth on a Dribble leg in the City of Brotherly Love. Soccer stars Ben Olsen of D.C. United and Rebecca Moros of Washington Freedom step in to accompany Ethan on the last lap and get the ball across the finish line.
“This has been one of the most inspiring events of my life, and Grassroot Soccer and I are extraordinarily grateful to the thousands who came out and supported us along the way, and the sponsors and partners who have been there since the very beginning,” says Grassroot Soccer co‐founder Ethan Zohn, who started the organization in 2002. “But this is just the beginning; we encourage everyone around the world who’s joined us to dribble on—to continue spreading the word about HIV/AIDS and prevention.”
The Grassroot Soccer UNITED Dribble is part of a year‐long initiative to get kids around the world to join the Grassroot Soccer “team” and get involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Africa. By summer 2009, the ten Grassroot Soccer UNITED “players” who have raised the most money for the effort earn a trip to South Africa to play at the FIFA Football for Hope Center alongside their teammates—African kids whose lives they’ve helped. In all, Grassroot Soccer UNITED hopes to raise $1 million for the cause.
Family Health International, which has worked extensively with Grassroot Soccer in Tanzania, is the Official NGO Partner of Grassroot Soccer UNITED. Lead sponsors for the campaign also include: PUMA®; POWERade®; Chipotle®; MLS WORKS; PUGG®; Abbott Fund; ONE condoms®; Morgans Hotel Group; General Motors®; and Dasani®. Apart from other areas of support, each has pledged in‐kind contributions of products and resources to support Grassroot Soccer, encourage public participation and further the cause. The CocaCola Company is proud to support Grassroot Soccer UNITED as part of the company’s Live Positively campaign.
In just six years, Grassroot Soccer—using a highly specialized curriculum that combines rigorously tested methods with kids’ love for the sport of soccer and its local heroes—has equipped over 270,000 African children with the skills and knowledge they need to live healthy, long lives. Partners like FIFA, MercyCorps, PUMA, Family Health International and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have not only supported the curriculum, but greatly expanded its influence by helping implement it in a dozen countries across the continent.
The organization aims to impact the lives of more than 1 million with its curriculum by 2010. More information is available at www.grassrootsoccer.org
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About Grassroot Soccer, Inc.
Grassroot Soccer, Inc. is the nonprofit using the “power of soccer” in the fight against HIV/ AIDS in Africa and around the world. Applying a highly specialized curriculum that combines rigorously tested methods with kids’ love for the sport and its role models, Grassroot Soccer has equipped over 240,000 children with the skills and knowledge they need to live healthy, long lives. By 2010, the organization endeavors to impact the lives of more than 1 million. www.grassrootsoccer.org