Eric Wynalda, ; Josh Kraft, Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston Nicholas President, Matt Reis, Lynn Margherio, Cradles to Crayons Founder and CEO; Ed Morata, Sovereign|Santander Head of Corporate Banking; and Jack Connors, Camp Harbor View Co-Founder and CEO(Elevate Communications)
Quincy, Mass- Sovereign | Santander Bank will donate $500 for every goal scored by the Revolution for the rest of the MLS season and by each team participating in the CONCACAF Gold Cup, which runs from July 7 to 28, to the Boys and Girls Club of Boston, Cradles to Crayons, and Camp Harborview in an initiative called “The Goals for Charity” campaign.
Camp Harborview offers nearly 800 children living in Boston’s at-risk neighborhoods the chance to leave the city and participate in a four-week summer camp. They do this in collaboration with the City of Boston and the Boys & Girls Club of Boston. Meanwhile, Cradles to Crayons provides children from birth to age 12 living in homeless or low-income situations with essential items they need to thrive.
The announcement for “Goals for Charity” came on Monday at Camp Harborview in Quincy where a slew of Revolution players and US Soccer Hall of Famer Eric Wynalda spent the afternoon with some of the children.
The Revolution Academy and twelve senior players conducted a soccer clinic and ran drills. Goalkeeper Matt Reis was the centerpiece of a shootout in which some children and representatives of Sovereign | Santander and the three non-profits tried scoring against him.
“The Revolution does do a very good job of helping with the community,” said Reis, who was also part of the US national team that won the 2005 Gold Cup. “Every since I’ve been here, for the last 16 years, we’ve done a lot with the community. With Santander and Sovereign, to raise money for the community, is something we’re very eager to do.”
“Goals for Charity” isn’t a one-day contribution for the Revolution. Since it depends on the goals that the Revolution score throughout most of July, it’s a cause that will likely stay in the back of their heads as they approach every game. This appears to be the best time to include the Revolution in this kind of a project, as they’ve scored 14 goals in their last seven games.
“It takes on an extra special meaning when there’s extra money on the line and that we can raise money for charity.”
“We’re going to tell the other teams that it’s for charity and to let us score more goals,” Reis joked.
The US will kick-off it’s Gold Cup campaign on July 9 in Portland against Belize. They will also play Costa Rica and Cuba in group play. Mexico are the US’ biggest regional rivals and both teams are always expected to take either first or second in the Gold Cup. Mexico has six tournament titles, while the US has four.
“The team looks really good right now,” said Wynalda, who is now an analyst with Fox Soccer Channel.
Wynalda also played for the Revolution in 2000 and 2001 and held the US’ all-time scoring record until it was broken by Landon Donovan in 2007. In 2004, he was named to the Hall of Fame.
“It’s usually about the form the US is in and the form Mexico is in. Let’s face it, Mexico is really struggling right now. When you look at the trophy and see how many times they’ve won it and how many times we’ve won it, it’s important as far as status goes in our region. And we want to be the best team in our region.”
Needless to say, Wynalda is expecting big things from the US. And a strong Gold Cup campaign will yield not only a trophy, but also funds for Sovereign | Santander to donate to the three non-profits.
“Win every game, lift the trophy at the end,” said Wynalda simply.
“I played in the Gold Cup and I played for the Revolution. The most important thing is with the charities, it means a lot to these kids. The event is something dear to my heart, so that’s why I was here.”
Posted by Julian Cardillo July 2, 2013 08:56 AM