Guest Blog Post from GOALS Youth Ambassador Sadie -

My name is Sadie. I’m from Los Angeles and I’m in the 8th grade. I have been playing soccer since I can remember. I can’t imagine my life without it. In fact, I wouldn’t have met some of my best friends if I hadn’t played soccer.  

This year, I have been studying for my bat mitzvah. I was thinking about what kind of service project to do and knew it needed to be soccer-related. After researching, I found GOALS Haiti and I knew I wanted to help kids enjoy soccer as much as I do.  

So I planned a soccer gear drive. For gear donations, I reached out to my friends, my team, my school, my community, and my soccer club.  The results that we got were insane. So many people wanted their soccer gear that they loved to go to someone else who would love it. I was also very lucky to get a large donation from my club, LA SURF, because they had just changed names and uniforms and had hundreds of brand-new pieces of gear that they didn’t need anymore.  

Another part of my bat mitzvah project was reaching out to soccer players all over the world and exchanging letters.  I talked to people in England, Scotland, The Netherlands, Portugal, South Africa, New Zealand, Colombia, India, and more.  I learned that soccer (or football as most people call it) can bring people together from all over the world. It’s such an amazing community because you all have one thing in common—a love of the game. It was really nice to see how much thought people put into their letters—even professional players who probably didn’t have much time—to share their own experiences and give me advice about how to get better.  

Soccer unites people and that’s something the world needs a little more of.  

The soccer pitch is a place where you can get rid of your frustrations, anxieties, and worries about the world. It’s a positive environment where you can make friends, gain confidence, and find happiness. I am excited to think about this equipment bringing joy to kids in Haiti. And I hope they love the game of soccer as much as I do.