USIndoor's Official Magazine is a quarterly publication, dedicated to owners, managers, program administrators and other professionals, startups and providers involved with indoor recreational sports facilities.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/919295
WINTER2018 15 "We are extremely grateful for the soccer park's partnership, not only because of its convenient location, ample parking and indoor fields, which negate potential weather cancellation, but, most importantly, because our fundraising total would be significantly impacted without the donation of the park's facility, fields, amenities, and staff." During the summer months, the park hosts children from America SCORES Milwaukee and The Boys & Girls Club of Greater Milwaukee for a fun "Soccer Stars" recreational program. In 2017, 21 "Soccer Stars" youth teams, with about 350 children, participated and had the opportunity to play against each other at the park, where they made new friends, learned new soccer skills and improved their teamwork. "When you consider that 78% of youth do not get the recommended amount of physical activity and 33.4% of children are overweight or obese in our country, the soccer park's availability and Milwaukee Kickers willingness to partner with us to provide our community's children with a better quality of life is invaluable," said Carpenter. The Salvation Army of Greater Milwaukee is another organization that benefits from the initiative. By hosting free summer field trips and mini-camps for children from The Salvation Army of Milwaukee County's homeless shelter and Maskani Place (a housing community for Milwaukee families that were previously living in shelters, are homeless, or are at risk of homelessness), the park's fields and staff provide interactive, physically active and much appreciated games in a safe, team building, sports oriented environment. "Because the park is where our staff offices are located, we tend to forget what it's like the first time we saw it. It's not only gratifying to be able to bring joy and provide a new experience for many of these children, who often don't have the option to play in green spaces, but it also serves as a reminder of how fortunate we are to have this facility and to be able share it with others," says Garcia-Velez. In addition to hosting scheduled community outings, Uihlein Soccer Park offers "Open Play" hours for the public, pending field availability. Because the soccer park is part of the Milwaukee County Parks System, the Open Play opportunity is frequently used and aligns with multiple public play programs county-wide. With a culture of giving back, the "Kickers & Our Community" initiative extends beyond