Last summer, youth soccer players with the Oak Park-River Forest Strikers Soccer Club took on a tough opponent: childhood cancers. The Strikers players put up a strong fight, raising more than $17,000 through the Kicks for Cancer program, setting a national record for the program and becoming a model for other soccer clubs around the state. Strikers players have scheduled a rematch, and this time they have teamed up with the Chicago Fire professional soccer club in hopes of giving cancer an extra kick. This year, FireWorks for Kids, the charitable arm of the Chicago Fire, will match each dollar raised by Strikers players with an additional $0.25 donation.
As an added incentive the Chicago Fire will offer buy-one-get-one-free tickets to see the Fire play the Los Angeles Galaxy on Sept. 23 to Strikers players who raise $50 or more in donations. In addition, the Strikers player who raises the most money will get to go on the field at the Galaxy game at the Fire’s new Toyota Park stadium in Bridgeview.
“It’s wonderful this year that the Fire is teaming up with Strikers. The Fire’s matching gift will make the donations our players raise go even farther in the fight against cancer, and their incentives are a great motivation for the kids,” said Strikers Club President John Donley.
Strikers players, who range in age from 7 to 18, participate in Kicks for Cancer during their annual preseason training camp week, to be held this year Aug. 21-25. Players ask friends, family and neighbors to sponsor them as they “juggle” their soccer balls off their knees, feet, thighs or heads 200 times each day, for a total of 1,000 juggles during the camp week. The players improve their soccer coordination while also raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society tofund cancer research and to help families facing the illness. Sponsorships of 1-cent per juggle will raise $10 to fight cancer; 2-cent-per-juggle pledges will bring in $20 and so on.
Donations to Kicks for Cancer can be made through any of the 400 Strikers youth players or by calling Michele Donley, volunteer Kicks for Cancer coordinator at 848-0780 or mcmdonley@aol.com.
Board members needed
Oak Park Youth Baseball/Softball (OPYB/S) is looking for people to serve on the Board for 2007. Anyone interested can send their resume to b_bfitzgerald@hotmail.com.
Call 312-952-0176 with any questions.
Press releases contributed to this report.
