Soccer Without Borders Refugee Community Soccer Camp Receives "SSV Kidzone" seats for the MLS San Jose Earthquakes game on August 3 at McAfee Coliseum
Soccer Silicon Valley Community Foundation is pleased to welcome 50 refugee youth and families who will be participating in Soccer Without Borders annual refugee community soccer camp as their guests in the SSV Kidzone seats for the San Jose Earthquakes MLS soccer match on August 3 against the Los Angeles Galaxy at McAfee Coliseum.
"Soccer Silicon Valley, through our community foundation and in partnership with the San Jose Earthquakes, has set up a program to bring 50 deserving kids to every Earthquakes home game," says SSV Kidzone chair Lloyd Danon. "Because the game will be in Oakland, we selected the members of Soccer Without Borders refugee community soccer camp to receive free tickets for the game."
"We are really excited to be working with the team’s fans through Soccer Silicon Valley Community Foundation on the SSV Kidzone," says Earthquakes Executive Vice President David Alioto. "The refugee youth from Oakland and Soccer Without Borders are deserving recipients."
The refugee youth participating in Soccer Without Borders summer soccer camp are the latest of several youth groups to enjoy the SSV Kidzone, including Unity Council of Oakland and Washington Youth Center and Mexican American Community Services Agency of San Jose. In addition to enjoying the game, Soccer Without Borders refugee campers will receive a visit from San Jose Earthquakes player Adam Smarte, who hails originally from Liberia and who will be participating as a guest instructor at the soccer camp.
"We are excited for the Quakes game on August 3," says Soccer Without Borders Executive Director Ben Gucciardi, a former soccer player with the minor league San Francisco Seals. "Many of the kids who will be coming to the game have lived in the States for less then one year, and almost all of them are huge soccer fans. It will be an amazing experience for them to be in the Coliseum getting to see the game played at the highest level."
About the Soccer Without Borders Oakland Refugee Community Soccer Camp: The refugee community soccer camp is an annual camp which takes place in Oakland and provides more 55 refugee children and youth with the opportunity to participate in a high quality soccer program. Many refugees from all over the world are resettled annually throughout the Bay Area. Having fled conflicts in their home countries, refugees seek peace and the opportunity for a better life here in the U.S.A. Refugees living in the Bay Area face many challenges including language and cultural barriers, economic hardship, and the difficulties of becoming acquainted with a new lifestyle. Summer can be a particularly isolated time for refugee children, especially those who recently arrived, as they have few opportunities for social engagement and learning. Using the universal language of soccer to create a fun and dynamic atmosphere, Soccer Without Borders hosts a camp to provide a positive activity and teach young people the lessons inherent in soccer. The camp features coaches and students from Liberia, Burma, Russia, Uzbekistan, Thailand, Ivory Coast and Bhutan. The camp is run with several other organizations which serve refugee youth in Oakland including the International Rescue Committee, the Oakland Unified School Districts Refugee/Asylee Student Assistance Program, Refugee Transitions and Oakland International High School. In the upcoming year, Soccer Without Borders will work in partnership with these organizations to expand soccer programming for refugee students throughout the year. For more information, visit www.soccerwithoutborders.org.
About Soccer Silicon Valley Community Foundation: Soccer Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SSVCF) is an all-volunteer 501c(3) non-profit comprised of San Jose Earthquakes fans whose mission is to ensure on an ongoing, sustainable basis, the vitality, and availability to all, of the sport of soccer in the Bay Area. Through the SSV Kidzone, SSVCF will bring during the 2008 MLS season a different group of 50 deserving children (and their adult chaperones) from a different youth-oriented non-profit in a different Bay Area community to see Earthquakes soccer – an experience they will remember forever – in the "SSV Kidzone," courtesy of Earthquakes fans. The SSV Kidzone is a collaborative effort between the fans and the San Jose Earthquakes, who have made significantly discounted tickets available to SSVCF for purchase in the SSV Kidzone. For more information or to make a donation go to www.ssvcf.org
About San Jose Earthquakes: The San Jose Earthquakes are a Major League Soccer expansion team that began playing in April of 2008. Season tickets for the 2008 Earthquakes season are on sale now and can be purchased by calling (408) 556-7700. Individual tickets are also on sale and can be purchased by calling 1-800-225-2277 or online at www.sjearthquakes.com.
Contact:
Soccer Without Borders – Ben Gucciardi, 415-587-1399, ben@soccerwithoutborders.org
SSV Community Foundation – Lloyd Danon, 408-859-7266, l_danon@yahoo.com
San Jose Earthquakes – Jed Mettee, 408-556-7723, Jmettee@sjearthquakes.com
San Jose Earthquakes – Flor Rivera, 408-556-7705, Frivera@sjearthquakes.com |
