By Riaz Mamdani
Staff Writer
Many people travel to exotic places for the aspect of pleasure, but two Costa students have been traveling to bring soccer to underprivileged areas of the world
Kleat’s for Kids club presidents Hanna Watkins and Danielle Major, are traveling to remote areas in Africa and Vietnam, and are delivering cleats and soccer equipment to underprivileged children.
“Last year we were all thinking about how we love soccer, and if there was anything we could to apply our love for soccer to people that aren’t as fortunate as us,” Major.
Major, and her friends from soccer, Watkins and Brooke Gleason, began collecting soccer jerseys and cleats and began donating the items to a local charity. After some time, they sent the jerseys with Watkins’s mom to Uganda.
“It ended up being perfect because we would take all the stuff to Hanna’s house and then her mom could take it personally and so we would know exactly what village it was going to and exactly how it impacted the kids,” Major said
The club has set up donation boxes at the Manhattan Beach elementary schools, and also have been having donation drives. Major soccer leagues like AYSO have also joined the club’s efforts have been regularly donating equipment. Club members donate old soccer equipment and get community service hours for doing so.
Last year Watkins went with her mom to Uganda and then also to Vietnam. This spring, Major is going to South Africa to drop off equipment to people in the community. In Vietnam, Watkins would travel to remote villages and give out soccer equipment.
“It’s that awesome feeling that you know that you’ve just given a child, sometimes their first pair of shoes, and that they will probably cherish it for the rest of their life,” says Hanna.
Now the club has started distributing cleats in underprivileged schools around Los
Angeles.
“What we’re doing this year is that we’re partnering up with soccer logo, and American Scores which is a charity for soccer equipment, and they have a LA site, so now we are in charge of donating the cleats there,”Watkins said.
This year the club’s goal is to gather 1,000 cleats and jerseys. Last year they only received around 100 cleats and jerseys.
“Since we are now working with these name brand charities, our donations have started to climb really high and we really want to reach our goal,” Watkins said
According to Major and Watkins, the whole experience has been rewarding in itself. They have changed the life of countless children in places no one would expect.
“It’s so easy for us to help these people,” said Watkins. “Our cleats that we use for one season can be the only pair of shoes someone in Africa might have, and it’s worth all the trouble, because in the end you’re helping yourself also.”
Leave a Reply