Author Archives: Candace Murray

PeacePassers equipment headed to Getsemaní, El Salvador

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Building on collaborations with Habitat for Humanity-El Salvador (HFH-ES), Myers Park Presbyterian Church (Charlotte, NC) and the Peace Passers we have collaborated to send 34 soccer balls, 103 pairs of youth size soccer boots, 71 soccer jerseys, 26 Nike t-shirts, as well as field cones & sport duffle bags to Getsemaní, El Salvador. The mission team will be leaving from Charlotte, NC on Feb 12th and will be working in partnership with the community of Getsemaní, EL Salvador. We are happy to have the opportunity to support sports development in Getsemaní and surrounding areas. Many thanks to Anna Carter for connecting to Peace Passers and spreading the good word about our global outreach work; and of course thanks to Donnie Daugherty (pictured below) for taking lead on picking up the equipment from us in Charlotte to prepare it for packing.

madison el salvador soccer donation

We’d also like to mention the bulk of youth soccer shoes heading to El Salvador came from a donation received by high school student Madison Bush (Richmond, VA) who collected 115 pairs of soccer boots from her local community. We are proud of her hard work and know the shoes will bring many smiles & kicks to the youth in El Salvador.

The Gift of Giving is Open to All Ages

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Five year-old Keller from Greenville, NC has us all smiling big. For his recent birthday party he collected 15 brand new soccer balls for Peace Passers. Keller has been playing soccer since he was three and his family thought he would enjoy collecting soccer balls for other children.  His father Todd explained “He was a bit confused at first (I guess most 5 yr olds would be) but when we explained to him that the soccer balls were to help other people make friends all over the world, he became very excited.”

jake

We also learned from his parents that Keller not only loves soccer but is also fascinated by surfing, so it sounds like he has a lot in common with the Peace Passers team!

Todd & Alisa said “The outcome was wonderful. Keller had a great party and because he was able to actually drop the balls off (to Peace Passers), he understood his contribution a bit more. That made it real. The idea of bringing a soccer ball to a birthday party to donate to other kids seemed normal to his friends. That was the best feeling , observing their innate generosity.”

We’d like to thank Keller and his friends for setting such a great example in the gift of giving. All of us at Peace Passers wish you & your family a very Happy Holiday Season!

High school student collects 190 pairs of boots for PeacePassers!

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jake

We are excited to give credit to fellow soccer player Jake for completing an exceptional soccer cleat collection drive in Chatham, NJ. Jake recently collected 190 pairs of soccer boots from his local soccer community. The recent donation from Jake will help in our collaboration with Playforhope.org and their efforts in establishing long term, sustainable sports growth to the youth of Rwanda. They work to keep kids off the street by providing children with holisitic ministry and professional level coaching. Part of the vision with Playforhope is to train coaches to use sports to love “the least of these.”  The coaches will learn sporting skills, discipleship skills, and ministry tools to reach the hurting youth of Rwanda.  Coaches will be given equipment to serve the communities in which they live. We are pleased to contribute to these endeavors by donating soccer equipment and would like to thank Brian Beckman & RJ Johnson from Playforhope.org for continuing their great work.

Qu’est-ce que c’es? A special thank you to the Kittrells!

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We’d like to give a special thank you to our good friends, and newlyweds Brooks & Natasha Kittrell.  On October 23rd, 2009 — surrounded by family & friends in Asheville, North Carolina the Kittrells became official. Officially married! Rather than spending money on a typical wedding favor such as sugared almonds, a magnet, or a small random gift for their guests, the Kittrells decided to think outside the wedding planner box and make a donation to their favorite charity. Yes, that would be the PeacePassers! The former Natasha Walker grew up playing the game of soccer and recognizes the value it can bring to others. In 2007 she experienced & survived a trip to Nicaragua with the Coopers, sparking her interest and support for the global spirit of the sport.  The recent Kittrell donation made to PeacePassers is an exceptional way to celebrate their marriage and give back in such a unique way. We wish you endless years of love, happiness, and lots of kids with soccer balls!

paris, france

Tasha & Brooks showing support for PeacePassers on their honeymoon in Paris, France.

Nina Chenault spreads the joy to Isiolo, Kenya

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nina in kenya 2009

In September 2009 Nina Chenault joined the mission team from University Park Baptist (Charlotte, NC) traveling to serve areas in East Africa. Volunteering to collaborate with Peace Passers, Nina took 24 soccer balls and soccer field cones to Isiolo, Kenya. With the donated equipment Nina and the mission team held soccer clinics and skills lessons, and were even surprised to learn that the kids wanted to play volleyball too…with their new soccer balls! We are happy support this group and have recently made another donation, this time in soccer jerseys, to support their next mission trip upcoming for December 2009. We look forward to continuing the collaborative teamwork to spread the joy of soccer to all.

To view more pictures from Kenya click here

Peace Passers supports HaitianProject.org

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scott at fundraiser for hatianproject.org

The Haitian Project is a Catholic Mission which supports and operates Louverture Cleary School (LCS), a tuition-free, Catholic, co-educational secondary boarding school for economically under-privileged Haitian children.

Scotty Herlihy met with Christina Moynihan and Susan Prince at a fundraiser in Memphis, TN at Cafe Ole. Scotty passed along 10 Soccer balls to be used at the school. A special thanks goes out to Chris Allen of LaunchMemphis and Derek Naylor of Celtic Crossing Pub and Restaurant for their contributions.

The Solomonson Family Passing the Peace to Guatemala

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soccer donations to guatemala

We’d like to thank fellow soccer fan Chad Solomonson and his family (Huntersville, NC) for volunteering to take Peace Passers soccer equipment with them on their upcoming trip to Patzicia, Guatemala. On October 28th, 2009 Chad and his wife Karin along with their 2 kids Emily and Boden are carrying 130 Peace Passers jerseys and 40 Peace Passers Balls to the El Sitan school in Guatemala. The Solomonson’s will be supporting the village of Patzicia and the El Sitan school which they first visited in 2007.  The school they will be working with during the week has 170 children in grades K-6.  Clearly the passion for global giving shines through the Solomonon’s. We wish you safe travels and plenty of soccer smiles for the youth in Guatemala!

Peace Passers “Get it done” for San Juan del Sur

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By Kelvin Marshall – Del Sur News – San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua

08.20.2009 – The Peace Passers Mission Statement is simple: “Through a collaborative, team approach; we support the mission to collect and distribute basic soccer supplies to people throughout the world”.

However, getting that done, (and they do) is not as easy as it looks. The collaboration required to make this work was achieve by solid networking and picking the right partners that can get the job done. This really is a chain with no weak links. The reputation of Peace Passers gives them the credibility needed to solicit soccer clothing and supplies which are then sent down to Jane Mirandette at the Biblioteca Móvil in SJdS. Once here, the Fundación A. Jean Brugger and Comunidad Connect help make sure the supplies are distributed appropriately – another important link in the chain that ensures the credibility of the program.

Jon and Jane

Jon Thompson (from Comunidad Connect and the Fundación A. Jean Brugger) summed it up best “There are so many folks who want to donate to us, to make a difference here in Nicaragua, yet transportation remains the number one obstacle. Little by little, Jane and American Airlines are doing their part to make the connections between international resources and local needs happen.”

Pictured above are Jane Mirandette (Biblioteca Móvil) and Jon Thompson (Comunidad Connect and the Fundación A. Jean Brugger) with a huge donation of 8 containers of football (soccer) clothing, shoes, balls and more which was collected by Peace Passers from the Denver (USA) area. Even this type of promotion adds value to the program as copies of articles and photographs can be sent to the donating groups to show that these generous donations got here.