The vision for Freedom FC began shortly after the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti January 12, 2010. After returning from a friend’s home for children in Carrefour, which is part of the Port-au-Prince metro area and epicenter of the quake, my son Jacob and I began dreaming of bringing some joy to the children of that home and the community. In July of 2015 we ran our first camp in Gressier, which is the location of the newly built home. Our camp ran for four days where sixty children ranging in age from 8 to 14 went to camp for the first time in their life. At every day of camp we served a meal to the children and many were heard saying that they had never eaten until they were full before. Many of the kids had never eaten chicken before that week and some even said they had never played soccer with a real soccer ball until that camp.
Each child received their own soccer shirt with our logo, their own number, and “Haiti” proudly displayed across the front. The kids were so proud to wear these shirts and excited to play and compete throughout the week. Medals were awarded for the winners of various skills competitions and our final day tournament saw the winners receiving their own regulation Adidas soccer balls. The looks on their faces are permanently etched in my mind when I said we would see them in 2016. Our 2016 camp included eighty children and ran June 27-30. We have already reserved the field for June 26-29, 2017 for our third year in Haiti.
Our dream for Freedom FC is to reach children in other parts of the world as well but without funding that dream cannot take place. That is where you come in. We have launched a Freedom FC shirt fundraiser where all donations and purchases will go directly towards the camp in Haiti in 2016 and future camps for underprivileged children both in the United States and other countries. Our next sale will be held in November of 2016 for Christmas orders.In the Fall of 2015 Freedom FC incorporated as a non-profit organization at the state level and we are working towards gaining our federal 501c3 status which costs money that for now is being used to run camps. It is our goal, however, to have that process completed before the end of 2016.
FreedomFutball.org 