Shaun Brun is a team member of the Sounders FC U-15 Academy and recently won their Humanitarian of the Year award for his volunteer work with GOALS Haiti earlier this year. As part of a school project and community engagement volunteering Shaun chose GOALS Haiti. He is half Haitian and he wanted to find a way to give back to his community. He trained 1st to 6th grade kids with 1-on-1 coaching teaching them the basics of soccer. Through his work, Shaun donated his earnings and raised much needed funds for GOALS Haiti, giving other kids the same opportunities that he had when he was younger.

Our Executive Director was at the award presentation at Lumen field which was a very proud moment. She sat down with Shaun to ask him about his journey with soccer and giving back. Here is what Shaun had to say:

“I started playing soccer at age 4 through the YMCA. Soccer has taught me so much. Soccer is a team sport so it has taught me to be a team player. You have to be ready to help your team mates. It also taught me about leadership. I never thought of myself as a leader but becoming team captain gave me a chance and I was excited about that.

In 7th grade I got introduced to GOALS Haiti by my dad. He showed me the website because he knew the Director. I was intrigued because I always wanted to do something for Haiti and to use soccer was a bonus.

To be able to do that for my 8th grade project was great. It was my first time to organize and to help train/coach sessions to help with my community. I designed the drills to teach other kids at my school.

Here in Seattle I’ve always had the opportunity to play the game. So it is cool to be able to help other kids play the game and chase their dreams. I see everything on the news and know that there is a side of Haiti that people do not get to see. There are positive and good things happening there and I am glad to be a part of it.”

Congratulations Shaun on winning Humanitarian of the Year and thank you for all of your hard work to help kids in Haiti!