Media Contact:
U.S. Soccer Foundation, Meredith McClure, 202.872.6662 mmcclure@ussoccerfoundation.org
Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Soccer Foundation, the Major Charitable Arm of Soccer in the United States, announced today that it will make an equipment donation to the Urban Initiatives Program based in Chicago, IL. The donation comes in recognition of Chicago Fire midfielder, Logan Pause, who was honored last year as a U.S. Soccer Foundation Humanitarian of the Year.
The equipment donation of 6 Pop-Up Goals, 3 Ball Bags and 24 Soccer Balls from Kwik Goal, as well as 100 adidas backpacks, will be made at a World Cup Celebration hosted by Urban Initiatives and Logan Pause on May 21st.
Pause is scheduled to join participants from Friedrich L. Jahn School and William Claude Reavis Elementary to participate in soccer related activities, World Cup education, and instruction on the importance of values within the game of soccer. The children, who come from predominantly Hispanic and African-American neighborhoods in Chicago, will unite on the same field to share their love of soccer.
Each U.S. Soccer Foundation Humanitarian of the Year is given the opportunity to select a youth program to receive a donation from the U.S. Soccer Foundation. Pause selected Urban Initiatives, a nonprofit organization that runs a health and education soccer program in the Chicago Public Schools. Urban Initiatives works with teachers and parents to boost the physical fitness, health education, academic performance and character development of children from Chicago’s underserved communities by actively engaging them in safe and structured extracurricular activities through soccer.
“Logan’s passion and commitment for serving his community is truly inspirational and he serves as a perfect example to others looking for ways to give back,” said Ed Foster-Simeon, President & CEO of the U.S. Soccer Foundation. “We are proud to honor his achievements both on and off the field through this donation to Urban Initiatives.”
Pause, a spokesman for the U.S. Soccer Foundation’s Passback Program, which provides children in urban economically disadvantaged areas with soccer equipment, has regularly participated in local Passback clinics speaking to kids about wellness and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. In addition to working with the U.S. Soccer Foundation, Pause also serves as a Chicago Fire Foundation board member, and donates his time to Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Garth Brooks Foundation, Children’s Memorial Hospital and the Joshua Center in Chicago.
About the U.S. Soccer Foundation
The U.S. Soccer Foundation is the Major Charitable Arm of Soccer in the United States. Established in 1994, the U.S. Soccer Foundation has invested more than $51 million, supporting hundreds of projects in every state. The U.S. Soccer Foundation supports programs and field building projects that provide low income and at-risk youth in urban communities with soccer programs that promote education, healthy lifestyles, leadership and positive alternatives to drugs, crime and other at-risk behaviors. For more information, or to donate online, please visit ussoccerfoundation.org/donate.
Media Request: When referring to the U.S. Soccer Foundation, the Major Charitable Arm of Soccer in the United States, please refer to the organization only as the U.S. Soccer Foundation or the Soccer Foundation, and never as USSF or US/U.S. Soccer. We appreciate your cooperation.
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