January 26, 2010 NEW FIELDS LAFC partners on inner-city projects
PASADENA, CA--- The LAFC Foundation has announced two collaborations – with the City of Huntington Park and its Department of Parks & Recreation, as well as The Roy W. Roberts, II Watts/Willowbrook Boys & Girls Club – to develop new soccer fields and leagues in these disadvantaged South Los Angeles neighborhoods.
With groundbreaking expected to take place this year, LAFC intends to develop two full-size soccer fields and one smaller one in city-owned Salt Lake Park in Huntington Park. A site is close to being finalized in the Watts/Willowbrook area, where a minimum of two fields is planned. Concurrently, LAFC is setting up new leagues with both partners, providing coach and referee training, uniforms and equipment.
LAFC is seeking individual, corporate and foundation support to raise nearly $2 million per year over a five-year period.
The Los Angeles projects will serve communities with similar economic needs and high drop-out rates among high school students. In Huntington Park, where close to 96% of the population is Latino, soccer is already a well-loved sport. In Watts, Willowbrook and Compton, LAFC aims to popularize soccer to the heavily African-American community.
“Both of our partners in Huntington Park and Watts/Willowbrook have excellent programs to serve youth, from literacy to health, but not enough kids are using them,” says LAFC founder/president Don Sheppard. “Soccer is a lever to bring kids into these and other programs. It gives kids hope and opportunity that they might not have otherwise. LAFC teaches soccer skills – but we also provide free mentoring, tutoring and life skills training, with the goal of keeping kids in high school and getting more into college.”
“Our shared vision is to use organized soccer as a path of hope and opportunity for those young people who need us most. This collaborative soccer and youth development program will inspire and enable underserved boys and girls to reach their full potential as players and responsible citizens” said Les Jones Executive Director of the Roy W. Roberts, II Watts/Willowbrook Boys & Girls Club
For more information, visit www.lafcfoundation.org.
