MVP Health Care was looking to add something special to their summer KidPower Soccer Series last year to teach children about the importance of giving back while they learned about healthy lifestyles from one of the best in the game, Abby Wambach. The U.S. Soccer Foundation’s Passback Program proved to be the perfect fit and soon there were Passback equipment collections at each event.
“These clinics and equipment donation programs gave us a chance to share the game of soccer with our local communities and programs around the world,” said Rebecca Couture, Community and Public Relations for MVP Health Care.
Since 2004, MVP Health Care has partnered with Abby Wambach of the U.S Women’s National Team and the Washington Freedom to host a series of soccer clinics in different locations throughout New Hampshire, New York and Vermont. Wambach, a Rochester, NY native, wanted to teach children the importance of hard work, setting goals, and staying healthy.
The partnership with the Passback Program allowed MVP Health Care and Wambach to support even more children by collecting soccer equipment that would go to kids in need in the U.S. and around the globe.
“It was a feel good thing,” Couture said. “And an opportunity to set a pay-it-forward example for the youth involved in our clinics.”
Connecting the dots, as MVP Health Care did, with their own clinics and the goals of the Passback Program, is a significant development among partnerships within this initiative. By following this model, equipment donations will continue to rise in numbers, but the real winner becomes the game of soccer as these efforts will only benefit the growth of the game.
