Several years ago Gary and I were invited by a friend and member of our local and global business community in Silicon Valley to meet with Olympic great Johann Olav Koss, founder of Right To Play, one of the most prominent humanitarian organizations in the world focused on developing, running and advocating sport/play programs for children in refugee camps and areas of conflict. Gary became US Soccer Advisor for Right to Play, and we were successful in raising money and providing support for the organization. We continued to do a variety of small projects in the non-profit space, using soccer as the vehicle for social good.
Working with Johann and Right to Play, and continuing our involvement with various charitable projects, along with our lifelong passion and commitment to the sport of soccer and our work teaching, coaching and mentoring young female soccer players through our own soccer club, served to help motivate us to re-evaluate our impact on the community and through the sport. We felt deeply compelled to make a bigger effort to utilize our own resources and the resources of our friends, family and acquaintances at a local and international level to help improve communities and lives through the sport of soccer.
This inspired us to create The Soccer Fund in 2018 to focus on something that is close to our hearts - using soccer as a vehicle for development in the most disadvantaged areas around the world. We are committed to improving lives, and in particular that of youth and females, in order to help advance and strengthen communities by translating the best practices and lessons of sport and play into everyday lives. The Soccer Fund programs foster the healthy physical, social and emotional development of youth and building safer and stronger communities by providing facilities, collaborating with local organizations, and supporting these programs through coaching, education and connecting a global network of people with the same goals and interests.
Over the many years that I have been involved in nearly every facet of the game as a player, coach, administrator, director, business consultant, volunteer and fan, I have had the privilege of meeting many compassionate, successful, generous, brilliant and dynamic people through the sport of soccer. I've enjoyed getting to know people from all walks of life, from a multitude of backgrounds and countries, who have been brought together by this wonderful sport. While we are fortunate here in my community, in many communities across the country and around the world, due to lack of funding, political and socioeconomic challenges, numerous children do not have the same basic opportunities to play and enjoy the benefits of a game, and do not know what it means to realize their potential on the soccer field and in the classroom and in their lives.
Our goal is to start at a grassroots level in the communities we work with by developing long-term relationships and supporting local soccer organizations and academic institutions, and providing more opportunities for children to get exposure to the game and to play freely. We plan to provide strategies for fundraising in the short and long-term as well as identifying prospective donors and partners. We are also plan to identify potential non-profit, government and for-profit partners to help us achieve our strategic objectives as well as developing media support and connections.
Our dream is to make The Soccer Fund an organization that will have a continuous and long-term positive impact through the game of soccer and in the world of soccer. With your support, we could make our dream a reality and any assistance you can provide and contribution you make will be greatly appreciated.
With Kindest Regards,
Carine & Gary Ireland