America SCORES Bay Area; Fields of Dreams Playground Initiative

Asphalt to Turf Initiative

The below video tells the story of why America SCORES Bay Area plans to transform 75,000 square feet of unsightly asphalt into green, safe, and beautiful fields of dreams. 

Crowdfunding Campaign Launched November 1 2013!

America SCORES invites Footballing Community to share in their vision to change the Beautiful Game for low-income youth and communities in San Francisco, one field and one school community at a time. YOU CAN HELP – TAKE ACTION NOW! Post a comment on the crowdfunding campaign home page explaining why you support America SCORES and this cause Share the Field of Dreams crowdfunding link via email, facebook, and twitter Give a small donation to help us gain crowdfunding momentum – $15 installs one square foot of turf Consider joining our Dream Team – info below* WHY CLICK AND FORWARD? – America SCORES is trying to change decades of status quo that have resulted in asphalt and concrete playgrounds.  Share our story and video now.  Share it with your friends, families and Footballing Community. Change happens when a small group of committed people make it happen.  It is never easy to move the needle on the status quo.  The first step is to take action. America SCORES needs you to help push open the gate.  Lean in.  Let’s transform urban public school yards into green, safe, and exciting places.  For every $15 raised, America SCORES Bay Area can install one square foot of turf. Their goal for the online campaign is 500 donors and $50,000 by December 31st.    America SCORES already completed our first transformation at Cleveland Elementary School in the Excelsior.  Next up include schools in the Tenderloin, Mission, Bayview, and more… The Field of Dreams initiative furthers the mission of America SCORES by transforming 75,000 square feet of unsightly asphalt into green, beautiful, and safe play spaces.  Working with stakeholders at all levels, America SCORES seeks to develop 18 micro soccer fields in San Francisco to benefit nearly 6,000 low-income youth.  In addition to the new fields over the next three years, America SCORES will double the number of participants in the “Words in Action” after-school program with the goal of 90 teams running at more than 30 public school communities in low-income under-resourced neighborhoods.   For a complete pdf description and overview of this program: click here. Want to learn more about the work America SCORES does?  Come to a SCORES Tour! Click on the sign up link to attend a session.

Robbie Rogers is gay: Let’s get back to Footy!

I am happy with how the MLS/ESPN/American FC* addressed Robbie Rogers being the first publicly out gay professional athlete in North America.

As much as I have been bothered by soccer coverage/commentary in the past, true professionalism and humanism was exuded by everyone involved with the Robbie Rogers story.

Thank You Robbie Rogers and Portland’s LGBT FC* for having a conversation that ultimately led to Robbie returning to the Beautiful Game.

Kudos to the Timbers Army and other MLS supporters that ushered in this monumentally minor acceptance of basic humanity to the MLS FC*.

* FC = Footballing Community

Update:  Robbie Rogers on Chelsey Lately:

Social Change through Footballing

Bay Area and beyond; Non-profits using Soccer for Social Change

Take a few minutes to get to know some interesting 501C3s

Soccer Without Borders’ mission is to use soccer as a vehicle for positive change, providing under-served youth a toolkit to overcome obstacles to growth, inclusion and personal success. 

America Scores encourages urban youth to lead healthy lives, be encouraged students, and have the confidence and character to make a difference in the world.

The United States Power Soccer Association (USPSA) hopes to provide all persons with disabilities who use power wheelchairs with the opportunity to play and experience soccer.

Street Soccer USA (SSUSA) uses the power of soccer to help homeless men and women dramatically transform their lives. We utilize the power of sports, in this case soccer, to promote player development not merely on the field, but in every aspect of life.

Futbolistas-4-Life is a documentary about a group of Oakland teens using soccer to address violence in their community, strengthen their city, and spread their passion for the game they love.

Grassroot Soccer uses the power of soccer to educate, inspire, and mobilize communities to stop the spread of HIV.

Project GOAL (Greater Opportunity for Athletes to Learn), a non-profit organization, is comprised of education, business, and sports professionals whose mission is to facilitate the development of Rhode Island’s disadvantaged youth through after-school tutoring and soccer-related programs.

The U.S. Soccer Foundation is a recognized leader in sports-based youth development programs for children in underserved, urban communities. Since its founding in 1994, the organization has provided more than $59 million in funding to create and sustain innovative programs across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Proven to deliver positive health and social outcomes, the Foundation’s affordable initiatives offer safe environments in which both boys and girls thrive. Headquartered in Washington, D.C. the U.S. Soccer Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization.

Bless Field

Please also check out this amazing project in Portland, Oregon.  AC Portland , who does amazing work with local youth, and the Timbers Army’s Operation Pitch Invasion ( definitely check this amazing community work) have teamed up with the Regence Boys and Girls Club for a community project to add safe year-round access to play space in Portland’s New Columbia neighborhood.

Please post links to other groups using soccer for social change.  I hope to learn more and share what i find.

Keep the ball moving,

KC