My Yute in Peru

In 2010, one of our volunteer coaches, Lena Eckhoff, approached the MYS leadership team with a request:  She wanted to take MYS to Peru!  She composed a wonderful letter describing her intentions, including her participation as a volunteer in The Humanity Exchange, and the MYS community rallied to support her. 

Since then, Lena has returned to Peru, with support from MYS and a round trip airfare donated by  Bocanova Restaurant, to continue sharing the MYS spirit. Aligned with the Mission and Vision of My Yute Soccer, Lena’s efforts represent the camaraderie and values MYS coaches and campers are developing and sharing each year.

Fellow travelers around the globe making a difference in children's lives and their communities.  

Breds

The Treasure Beach Foundation was established as a nonprofit organization in 1998 by Peace Corps volunteer Aaron Lafur and hotelier Jason Hanzell.  The organization was started with the purpose of addressing the specific needs within Treasure Beach, Jamaica, while also providing a mutually beneficial connection between the tourism sector and the community--a relationship that in many ways has come to define Treasure Beach.  With over a decade's worth of service to the community of Treasure Beach, Breds now looks to continue its fundraising beyond the regional tourism base, and has turned to social enterprise organizations, foundations and development institutions to assist Breds in creating a long term sustainability plan for the community.

Grass Root Soccer

Grassroot Soccer, Inc. became a registered 501(c)3 charitable organization in 2002. Founder, Tommy Clark, MD conceived of the idea after having played soccer professionally in Zimbabwe where he witnessed first hand both the devastation of HIV and the fanatical popularity of soccer. Together with a group of friends who had similar experiences, he and co-founders Methembe Ndlovu, Ethan Zohn and Kirk Friedrich created Grassroot Soccer. The core group traveled to Zimbabwe in 2002 and with the support of advisory board member, Albert Bandura, consultants and local stakeholders, developed and piloted an interactive soccer-themed HIV prevention curriculum that was first implemented in Zimbabwe in 2003. After a positive independent evaluation of the project by The Children’s Health Council, a Stanford University affiliate group, GRS received a three-year program grant in 2005 from The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to expand its work.

One World Futbol

In 2006, One World Futbol inventor Tim Jahnigen was watching news footage about traumatized refugee youth in Darfur playing soccer on dirt using a ball they had made by tying trash together  with twine. In that instant, Tim saw that these kids had such strong, indestructible spirits and felt they deserved better. He realized there was a global need for a nearly indestructible ball that could withstand the harsh conditions often faced by youth living in refugee camps, disaster areas and other disadvantaged communities.

With that spark of inspiration, the idea for the One World Futbol was born.