The Westside community of Atlanta came together for the “Day of Sport” on September 29th held at the Home Depot Backyard at Mercedes Benz Stadium. The event was staged by the Laureus USA Foundation a nonprofit organization that shares the vision of sport as a force for positive change. Hundreds of kids from the Westside participated in a wide variety of sporting activities from lacrosse to golf and of course soccer.
Overseeing the soccer activities was the staff of Soccer in the Streets. School Program Manager, Garrick Dawson and Community Program Manager, Tony Carter spent the day teaching the young athletes a variety of soccer skills from dribbling to shooting.
“We appreciate everything that Laureus has done for our organization,” said Dawson. “Laureus has been involved with our programing for a year and a half and we are seeing the benefit of their involvement with an exponential growth in leadership development, which is one of the key pillars of our programming.”
The Westside of Atlanta continues to be a key area for Soccer in the Streets as there are programs operating in Vine City, Castleberry Hill, and the West End. The programs continue to flourish thanks to the generous funding from the Arthur M. Black Foundation.
“The goal for Soccer in the Streets and Laureus USA is continuing the collaboration and partnership to grow the sport,” said Julia M. Lankford, Atlanta Program Officer for Laureus. “We want to continue to support Soccer in the Streets in the Westside communities.”
Laureus USA believes that sport has the power to change the world, as proclaimed by their founding patron Nelson Mandela. They are a grant-making, nonprofit organization that supports the growth and deepens the impact of 50 sport and youth development organizations nationwide.
Through Sport for Good Cities initiative, they unite communities to challenge the inequities facing underserved youth through the power of sport.Their local investments in cities improve the lives of more than 350,000 kids annually. Laureus USA is a proud member of the global Laureus network, which includes nine national Laureus Sport for Good Foundations, the Laureus World Sport Academy, and the Laureus World Sports Awards.
To learn more about Laureus USA; https://bit.ly/2Ab9X76
