Soccer in the Streets Supporters,
This past year marked our 30th anniversary and it was one to remember for Soccer in the Streets. Thirty years of service to our community is a credit to everyone out there including our staff and many of you who continue to leave a lasting mark on the 32 Atlanta communities where we work.
Most importantly, it’s about our youngsters and how we can help them shape their lives. They play, they learn and they grow and often through challenging circumstances. They like all of us respond to a positive environment and succeed, given the opportunity -- all 5,000 of them.
Our programs have seen much improvement over the years. For example, we have over 500 kids in our public school program and 1,200 kids in our community programs. Over 50 youth referees participate in our leadership program which has seen two successful graduates attend college. For most of them, it is the first time they’ve had the chance to earn money and learn how to manage it. Bank of America stepped up with financial literacy training and bank accounts which were a real success (even some of the parents got involved). We have grown to field 10 girls teams, the most in the history of our program. Support from FIFA and UEFA made a lot of this possible. And over 40 licensed coaches are now at work educating our youth players to become young leaders of the metro Atlanta area. Recruiting these coaches from neighborhoods where we run programs has been a big focus. It creates a positive loop of investment.
In August, we opened our third StationSoccer location across from the East Point MARTA Station. The East Point location came to fruition through partnerships with the City of East Point, the Atlanta United Foundation, MARTA, and the Transformation Alliance, as well as two local businesses - Oz Pizza and Joel Baskin, P.C. We’ve made it a priority to work with local leaders and through the community. What’s more, we now boast the best pizza at any soccer location in the city
The vision of StationSoccer has always been to bring soccer to more kids whilst using the public transport network as the connector. Three locations are up and running and we expect to see three more in 2020. There’s a lot of work ahead, but seeing the huge effect the project has on communities spurs us on.
Along with looking forward to new locations, we should also look back at the impact the existing stations have had on their local communities. West End is a prime example where the community continues to embrace what we bring. The day we opened the station in September 2018, over 100 youth signed up. Not bad I agree. Fast forward to just over a year and we have 340 kids registered and West End United is a fully-fledged mini soccer club. There’s more to come. 2020 will see a classroom come to the station - all with a special twist, so, stay tuned! In a few year’s time, we’ll have all ten StationSoccer venues up and running in the world’s first League Of Stations: this will be truly transformational for the city.
As I look back at my time in Atlanta, it never ceases to amaze me how this city embraces the new and wants to grow. Soccer is the most recent example. Our city has been recognized globally as one that draws some of the biggest crowds in the world. Those same fans who scream and shout for AUFC week in and week out also put their time and energy to giving back through Soccer in the Streets. Whether it’s a coach, parent, adult player in one of our fundraising leagues or as a youth participant. They step up and make a difference. Thank you to the more than a hundred volunteers who dedicate their time to create a better society.
As always, I have to give a nod to the continued support of our sponsors and donors. There's no substitute for time, money and passion. The support of The Atlanta United Foundation, the City of Atlanta and MARTA continues to help drive growth. And thanks to Transformation Alliance for its grassroots support of our initiatives. I wish I could personally thank all forty or so groups that make it happen for us.
Our 30th year was one to remember. Now we look forward to our fourth decade in service to the Atlanta community. Who knows where we’ll be when we turn 40, but I’ll predict that we’ll have many more communities connected along our rail lines and people will be looking at Atlanta and asking how did they do that?
Sincerely,
Phill Hill
Executive Director