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Released 13 January 2010
The Salvation Army and Tidewater Area Soccer Clubs are hosting a relief
drive for the victims of the 7.0 earthquake that killed thousands and displaced
millions of Haitians. The drive will be held on Saturday, February 20
from 9am to 5pm at the Hampton Roads Soccer Complex in Virginia
Beach.
The relief drive is unique in that the soccer clubs will put aside their
jerseys and rivalries
to
come together in solidarity and provide not only the most immediate and
necessary essential provisions for the country of Haiti such as water, clothing
and medical supplies, but to leverage the recognition of the spirit of the game
of soccer that unites the world to provide soccer supplies to the children of
Haiti. Visit salarmyhr.org to see the complete list of items being
collected.
“It’s a fantastic idea,” said Major Lewis Reckline of The
Salvation Army. “In a lot of cases it’s best to support disaster
relief with financial contributions but in this case, this drive is going to be
so big it’s going to be like a corporate donation.”
The Salvation Army is serving as lead agency for some 20,000 displaced
Haitians temporarily housed in a soccer arena and plaza in Port-au-Prince and
in the past few weeks, has served people in need in areas outside of
Port-au-Prince.
With over half a dozen soccer club teams in Southside Hampton Roads, the
Tidewater Area Soccer Clubs have a participant base that exceeds 15,000
families. Partners set to participate and contribute to the drive include, WVEC-TV 13 News, UPS Freight and
MANCON, Inc.
“We wanted to give children to the opportunity help the children and
families of Haiti in a more direct way than sending just a text message to
donate money,” said Patrick Dwyer, Commander, USCG (Retired) and
spokesman for Tidewater Area Soccer Clubs. Dwyer, a travel soccer coach with
the Virginia Rush Soccer Club realized that a large relief support could be
generated by uniting with all the area soccer clubs but also understood the
daunting logistics task of getting the relief supplies actually into Haiti.
Uniting with the Salvation Army was the cornerstone connection that will help
make this drive a success. “We’re very excited about this drive
and to have the support of a disaster relief organization such as The Salvation
Army makes it even better. We’re hoping all the Tidewater area
communities, and not just the soccer clubs, will join us in this
outreach” said Dwyer.
With over half of the population of Haiti being less than 21 years of age,
the families and children of the Tidewater Area Soccer Clubs can have an
immediate and profound impact for the children of Haiti.
The Salvation Army has been in Haiti operating schools, hospitals and
orphanages in Haiti since 1950 and, as with any disaster or community, is
committed to helping the people regain and improve their lives. At present
time, The Salvation Army has over 700 officers and staff in Haiti assisting in
the relief effort.
Click here to donate to the relief
effort
Visit The
Salvation Army Blog for Updates on Services in Haiti