Opportunity Details
TeamWorks: Empowering Communities through Soccer (age 18+) *Hands On*
Join a TeamWorks team of volunteers for a series of done-in-a-day projects led by a Hands On Greater Portland TeamWorks Leader. TeamWorks offers volunteers the opportunity to make a slightly longer-term commitment to volunteering, delve into a topic or issue-area, and get to know other volunteers in the process.
Soccer is called “The Beautiful Game” or, as the most popular sport around the globe, “The World’s Game.” What is it about soccer that inspires and unifies so many people across religious, national, ethnic, gender, and other boundaries? In this TeamWorks, we will explore soccer as an empowering, inspiring, and unifying force in building community and promoting youth development in the Portland area and beyond.
Through readings, videos, and volunteering with soccer-related community partners, we will seek to understand the role of soccer in communities at home and abroad. We'll kick off the TeamWorks experience alongside Timbers, Thorns, and/or T2 players at one of their Stand Together Week projects helping restore the award-winning inclusive Harper's Playground. After the project, we will continue our discussion of the contributions of local soccer teams and then, for those who are interested, head over to cheer on the home team at a Timbers T2 soccer game at Merlo Field that evening. The next week, we'll learn more about the soccer empowerment programs of Active Children (AC) Portland and help them raise money at a Thorns 50/50 raffle. The team will then get to spend some time out on the field ourselves (no skills required!) alongside the many kids served by 4 Worlds United Soccer Alliance's pick-up summer soccer games in both SE Portland and New Columbia. We'll talk about soccer's impact on a global level through a fun documentary movie night, and if we're lucky, we may get to do a bonus field-restoration project with Operation Pitch Invasion!
Whether you are someone who has played the game, just an ardent supporter, or simply benevolent and curious, we invite you to join us in learning how soccer can bring people up and bring them together
Signing up for the FIRST session will sign you up for the entire TeamWorks. Commitment to every project in the series is important, so please carefully check the schedule below before signing up! If you know in advance you'd have to miss one of the projects, let us know and you may still be eligible to join the team. Questions can be directed to Melia Tichenor,melia@handsonportland.org or 503.200.3370.
Team Schedule:
Session 1:
Sunday, June 14th, 12:45pm - 4:00pm
TeamWorks Kick-off: Spruce Up Harper's Playground with Stand Together
@ Arbor Lodge Park, N Portland
Stand Together Week is a call to action to get involved in the community alongside Portland Timbers, T2, or Portland Thorns players, representatives and/or Timber Joey! Since 2012, Stand Together Week participants donated 7,012 hours of service at more than 100 events benefitting youth and the environment in the greater-Portland area.
For our first TeamWorks project, we will join together with other Stand Together volunteers and Timbers representatives to clean up and beautify Harper's Playground - an inclusive playground and park for kids of all abilities. Volunteers will help with litter pick up, weeding and bark chip spreading. As one of the only pesticide-free parks in Portland, human volunteer hours are regularly needed to keep the park clean, usable and welcoming. Harper's Playground builds inclusive playgrounds so EVERYBODY is welcomed and able to join in the fun and social learning that is unrestricted outdoor play. Dress for the weather and bring water!
After the project, our TeamWorks crew will regroup from 3-4pm to get to know one another, explore our reasons for coming together on this team, and talk about the fun projects ahead! OPTIONAL: For those who are interested, join team leader Nick for the T2 game against the Austin Aztex at University of Portland at 6pm; tickets are $10-15.
Session 2:
Friday, June 19th, 4:00pm - 9:00pm
Support AC Portland: 50/50 Raffle Volunteering at the Thorns Game
@ Providence Park, SW Portland
Active Children Portland (AC Portland) empowers students to lead healthy lives, succeed academically and inspire positive community engagement through youth soccer and basketball. To help raise funds for their programming, we will help AC Portland sell 50/50 raffle tickets at the June 19th Thorns game against FC Kansas City. During the popular 50/50 raffle, half the proceeds are up for a lucky fan to win, and the other 50% are donated to AC Portland and Stand Together.
Our group will arrive early to talk with Kenny from AC Portland and learn more about their amazing programs working to empower youth through soccer. Then we'll split off to work in pairs at various raffle stations around the stadium before the game and during halftime. The shift will finish at the beginning of the second half, at which point we are invited to stay and watch the remainder of the match! Top sellers and returning volunteers have the opportunity win rewards.
If schedules work, the team may also connect up with Girls, Inc at the stadium to discuss the role of soccer in the lives of many young women.
Session 3:
Monday, June 22nd, 5:30pm - 8:00pm
Play Soccer in the Park with Refugee Kids
@Kateri Park Housing Complex, SE Portland
Have you been itching to get outside and play some games this summer? If so, you're in for a treat! Our group will join in on the fun with an energetic group of refugee children from East Africa, Burma and Nepal for an evening of pick-up soccer! The kids are learning how to speak, read and write English, but it’s not easy. Many of them are great soccer players, and even the smaller ones are eager to play. Our group will meet the kiddos at their housing complex near SE 28th and Powell and walk them down to the nearby park to play soccer. No experience necessary!
After the event, we will meet with Abby of 4 Worlds United Soccer Alliance, the organization that organizes the pick-up games, to learn about how they are using soccer to bridge the gap between first and fourth world children by bringing them together on the soccer field. What is the “fourth world?” you say? You'll just have to come to find out!
Session 4:
Tuesday, June 30, 6:00pm - 8:30pm
Soccer Documentary Night!
@Downtown location
Let's meet up as a team over dinner and explore at how soccer is empowering communities around the world! We'll either watch Goals for Girls: A story of women with balls, a documentary about the ignored world of women's football in Argentina, or we'll dig into Pelada, an exploration about the world of pick-up soccer across 25 countries. Potluck items encouraged -- and pizza may be provided (stay tuned!).
Session 5:
Monday, July 7, 5:30 - 8:30pm
Soccer in the Park with Kids at New Columbia & TeamWorks Wrap-Up
@New Columbia in N Portland
Another opportuntiy for us to get outside and play some games this summer with 4 Worlds United! This time, we will meet up for their pick-up soccer game at New Columbia, a community that is home to nearly 1,200 kids from 22 countries speaking more than 11 different languages -- be prepared to make some new friends! Many of them are great soccer players, and even the smaller ones are eager to play. We'll join in on the fun for our second evening of pick-up soccer with the kids and then head to a nearby restaurant to grab dinner and wrap-up our TeamWorks experience with a final discussion, exploring what we've learned and how we can stay involved and continue to help empower our communities through the magic of soccer.
TBD Optional Bonus Session:
Operation Pitch Invasion: Build. Revitalize. Maintain.
Operation Pitch Invasion helps develop soccer fields and futsal courts in our City's parks and schools so that kids ofa ll ages have high-quality and safe playing surfaces to enjoy the beautiful game. They bring together people over a shared project, shared park, shared fundraising goal, and a shared game. We are in actively touch with OPI to see if any pitch invasion projects are scheduled during the course of our TeamWorks or soon afterwards, and will share the details with the group if a bonus project shapes up!
Click "Sign Up" below to reserve your spot on the team! Need help signing up? Call 503-200-3355.
Age Minimum (with Adult): 18+, Minimum Age:18+
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