Grantee Spotlight: 2007 Mooch Myernick Memorial Fund Recipients
The Brightmoor neighborhood in northwest Detroit doesn't seem a likely home for soccer moms.
Prostitutes work the neighborhood. Homes where drugs are sold and used thrive, and vacant lots and burned-out buildings scar the 4.5-mile landscape.
Still, more than 11,000 households endure the blight. Tim Richey, program director for the Think Detroit PAL inner-city sports leagues, sees potential.
Beginning July 10, Think Detroit PAL will use cash from a 2007 Mooch Myernick Memorial Fund grant to run a youth soccer clinic in Brightmoor's Optimist Stout Park. If all goes according to plan, a new contingent of soccer devotees-and soccer moms-will follow.
A similar storyline is underway in Chicago, through the efforts of the Talcott Fine Arts and Museum Academy.
"I was told we'd never be able to get kids in the city to play soccer," Richey says. "That's just incorrect. If you provide the opportunity for kids to play, they're going to play."
U-5 to U-16
Think Detroit PAL launched its soccer program after the 1996 World Cup. Twenty kids played the first season on two teams. Today, more than 1,000 players-ranging from 4 yrs to 16 years old-play on more than 80 teams.
Richey says the quality of play continues to improve. In addition to its popular Saturday recreational league, Think Detroit PAL now fields two teams in the Michigan State Premier Soccer Program. More importantly, the organization provides equipment, coaching and positive experiences for kids who go home to some of the hardest circumstances imaginable.
According to the non-profit Michigan League for Human Services, 40 percent of Detroit children aged 5 to 17 live in poverty. Most live with one parent. Almost 50 percent of Detroit kids don't finish high school.
Two previous grants from the U.S. Soccer Foundation have helped Think Detroit PAL reach out to other tough neighborhoods in Detroit. Richey says the $25,000 granted this year will make a huge impact on the lives of kids in Brightmoor.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays through the end of July, Think Detroit PAL's volunteer coaches will run drills and scrimmages in Optimist Stout Park. In September, they'll start a league. "There will be a lot of one-handed throw-ins and toe kicks," Richey says. "But like we all know, soccer is the best teacher of the game. So we'll just let them start to play, and we'll give them encouragement and teach technique along the way."
Grants exceed $100,000
Last year, the Foundation's Mooch Fund drew more than $100,000 in contributions. The money goes to organizations that support soccer for inner-city kids. In addition to the Think Detroit PAL grant, $100,000 was committed to building a new all-conditions field in New York City's Flushing Corona Park.
Chicago's Talcott Fine Arts and Museum Academy received $24,700 to help develop an in-school league and a traveling team. One key criteria for playing: students have to attend class.
A spike in attendance since the league kicked off last fall suggests it's a solid hook. "If these kids weren't playing soccer, they'd all be in gangs," says Talcott coach and Real Chicago Futbol Club co-founder Eddy Voltaire.
Soccer moms rejoice.
If you would like additional information about the Foundation's Mooch Myernick Fund or its ongoing commitment to providing resources to urban soccer programs like Think Detroit PAL, please click on the following links:
How to Apply for a U.S. Soccer Foundation Grant
Frequently Asked Questions About Grants
2007 Grantees
Mooch Myernick Memorial Fund
How to make a tax-deductible gift to support grants to urban soccer programs through the Foundation's Annual Grants Program
Special thanks to ADAM KLEINER for his assistance with the research and development of this story. |
