Waltham, MA 9th September; Last weekend, MPS coaches attended the Grassroots Soccer 24-hours of Barefoot Soccer event to help raise funds for AIDS prevention in Africa.
The event was held at Hunnewell Fields, Wellesley commencing at 4p.m. on Saturday and ran for 24 hours straight, concluding at 4p.m. Sunday evening.
The fundraiser was organized by MPS players Owen Diana (15), Lee Wickham (15), Ian Speers (15), and Bianca Calderone (17) from Wellesley High School, who came up with the concept of playing barefoot soccer to show solidarity with African children who cannot afford shoes.
“We were delighted to lend our support to this fundraiser and it was great to see our players and coaches get so heavily involved,” said MPS Director of Coach Peter Bradley. “Special mention must go to Owen, Lee, Ian and Bianca who showed tremendous leadership skills in making this event happen.”
People of all soccer abilities were encouraged to participate in this event. During the hours of 12 – 3a.m. on the 5th September 13 MPS coaches including Graham Munro, Dan Lawson, Kevin Hunter, Perry Gaffoor, Ed Jenkinson, Tim Mason, Caolán Mac Hugh, Andy Mason, Ralph Latchana, Chris Waugh, James Blackwell, Andrew Thornton and Ronan Creen attended.
Each participant was asked to contribute a minimum of $25, all of which was donated to Grassroots Soccer charity based in Norwich, Vermont.
For more information on Grassroot Soccer please visit www.grassrootsoccer.org
