As firm believers in soccer's power to unite and bring hope to people around the world, we at Kicking & Screening are dedicated to using the festival as an agent of change. To that end, a portion of the proceeds from every K&S festival is donated to local, socially conscious organizations using soccer to promote positive change in the world.
The chosen social partner for K&S in 2011 is Soccer Without Borders.
Founded in 2008 by Ben Gucciardi, one of the most dynamic and inspiring leaders we've ever met, this San Francisco-based nonprofit "uses soccer as a vehicle for positive change in the lives of marginalized youth."
SWB runs soccer-related programs in New York, Oakland, and Baltimore in the United States, and in Nicaragua, Argentina, Guatemala, and Uganda internationally. Programs consist of four elements: Soccer Play and Instruction; Training Coaches, Training Leaders; Life-Skills Education; and Themed Camps and Tournaments.
The SWB advisory board includes some soccer-scene heavyweights, including US World Cup star John O'Brien and K&S founder Greg Lalas, who believe in what Ben and SWB are doing.
For more information, visit SoccerWithoutBorders.org.
PAST K&S SOCIAL INITIATIVE PARTNERS
Play31
Based in New York, Play31 is a nonprofit using soccer to facilitate reconciliation in countries ripped apart by war, particularly, Sierra Leone.
DC SCORES/America SCORES
Part of the larger America SCORES program, DC SCORES is a Washington-based nonprofit that runs soccer and creative-writing education programs in urban communities.
Grassroot Soccer
Co-founded by K&S advisory board member Ethan Zohn, Grassroot Soccer runs programs around the world, including Africa and Central America, that use the "universal language" of soccer to educate youth about HIV.
