DENVER, July 13, 2015 – As an extension of Chipotle Mexican Grill’s commitment to support the game of youth soccer, the company has partnered with Soccer for Success as the official beneficiary of the 2015 Chipotle MLS Homegrown Game. Together with MLS WORKS, Major League Soccer’s community outreach initiative, the two organizations will donate $20,000 to Soccer for Success. The donation will be presented at the 2015 Chipotle MLS Homegrown Game held on Tuesday, July 28 at 7:00 p.m. MT at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.
The donation will enable Soccer for Success, the U.S. Soccer Foundation’s free afterschool soccer program (run locally through Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club), to expand its support for Colorado youth soccer. Soccer for Success is focused on four components: physical activity, nutrition, mentorship, and family engagement. Children participate in 90 minute sessions at least three days a week to ensure they receive the recommended 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise, and staff and coaches deliver educational activities where children are taught the basics of nutrition and the importance of making healthy lifestyle and eating choices. Coaches serve as mentors and stress the importance of excelling in school while promoting the values of teamwork, leadership, discipline and respect. Through family engagement, Soccer for Success helps parents and families apply the program’s teachings at home.
“We created the Homegrown Game in partnership with MLS as a way to showcase the league’s top young talent and youth development system. Through the Soccer for Success program, more youth will have the opportunity to discover the sport of soccer and learn the fundamentals of a healthy lifestyle,” said Chris Arnold, director of communications at Chipotle.
“Although Colorado is known as one of the leanest states for adults, it has the second-fastest rate of increase in childhood obesity in the nation. This trend is particularly strong among children in the urban, underserved communities in which our programs operate, where children are more than three times as likely to be overweight than children from higher-income families,” said Hailey Bird, program director for Soccer for Success. “Funding from Chipotle and MLS WORKS will help ensure these children have a safe afterschool environment where they can be active, learn soccer skills and how to make healthy lifestyle choices, and develop stable relationships with their coaches and teammates.”
In addition to the company’s monetary donation, Chipotle is offering tickets to Soccer for Success youth athletes, along with their friends and family, to attend the game. Chipotle will also provide a pre-game meal for each youth athlete along with a Chipotle MLS Homegrown t-shirt.
The second-annual Chipotle MLS Homegrown Game will be held Tuesday, July 28, at 7 p.m. MDT at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park – home of the Colorado Rapids – as a prelude to the 2015 AT&T All-Star Game the following night. This year the MLS Homegrown Team will face Club América’s U-20 squad, the official youth squad of Club América, Mexico’s most successful club. Tickets are available for purchase at ChipotleHomegrown.com with proceeds benefiting Soccer for Success. The first 2,000 attendees at the game will receive a limited edition scarf.
ABOUT CHIPOTLE
Steve Ells, founder, chairman and co-CEO, started Chipotle with the idea that food served fast did not have to be a typical fast-food experience. Today, Chipotle continues to offer a focused menu of burritos, tacos, burrito bowls (a burrito without the tortilla) and salads made from fresh, high-quality raw ingredients, prepared using classic cooking methods and served in a distinctive atmosphere. Through our vision of Food With Integrity, Chipotle is seeking better food from using ingredients that are not only fresh, but that – where possible – are sustainably grown and raised responsibly with respect for the animals, the land and the farmers who produce the food. In order to achieve this vision, we focus on building a special people culture that is centered on creating teams of top performers empowered to achieve high standards. This people culture not only leads to a better dining experience for our customers, it also allows us to develop future leaders from within. Chipotle opened with a single restaurant in 1993 and operates more than 1,850 restaurants, including 17 Chipotle restaurants outside the U.S. and 10 ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen restaurants, and is an investor in an entity that owns and operates two Pizzeria Locale restaurants. For more information, visit Chipotle.com.
ABOUT MLS WORKS
MLS WORKS is Major League Soccer’s community outreach initiative dedicated to addressing important social issues and serves as a platform for both League and club philanthropic programs. MLS WORKS seeks to establish Major League Soccer as a leader for improving the lives of people through sport. For more information on MLS WORKS initiatives and charitable partners, please visit the MLS WORKS website (www.MLSsoccer.com/works) and follow us on twitter @MLSWORKS.
ABOUT SOCCER FOR SUCCESS®
Soccer for Success® is the U.S. Soccer Foundation’s free afterschool program that uses soccer as a tool to address children’s health issues and juvenile delinquency, while promoting healthy lifestyles in urban underserved communities. The Foundation partners with community-based organizations across the country to operate Soccer for Success sites – providing thousands of children with free afterschool programming three times per week for the entire school year. In Denver, the Foundation has partnered with Colorado Rapids Youth Soccer Club to implement the program since 2012. This fall they will serve 3,000 students in more than 65 schools and recreation centers. For more information about Soccer for Success in Denver, visit rapidsyouthsoccer.org.
Media Contacts:
Krista Washington
U.S. Soccer Foundation
kwashington@ussoccerfoundation.org
202-872-6662
Eleanor Arlook
Maroon PR
eleanor@maroonpr.com
443-864-4246
Chris Arnold
Chipotle
303-222-5912
