MLS Chicago Fire FC

FWFK Awards Largest One-Time Pay Out in Foundation History

Published on May 6, 2003 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Chicago Fire FC News Release


CHICAGO, IL (Tuesday, May 6, 2003) - The FireWorks for Kids Foundation (FWFK) - the charitable arm of the Chicago Fire - announced today that the non-profit organization has awarded over $72,000 in grants and contributions to several Chicago-based community organizations. This year's spring grants total marks the largest one-time pay out ever awarded by the Foundation.

"We are very pleased to award these grants to these worthy organizations," said FWFK CEO Donald Ortale. "The economic challenges we face today has created a very competitive environment for grant dollars as some funding sources are freezing funding. The Foundation is proud to be in a position to maintain our funding goals to worthwhile programs that benefit disadvantaged youth throughout Chicagoland."

Robert Morris College, Family Focus, CasaCentral, Boys Hope Girls Hope, Gads Hill Center, Glenwood School, Horizons for Youth, Chicago Youth Programs, American Lung Association, National Safety Council and CLASA all benefited from FWFK's generosity in helping to develop the Chicago community.

"The tremendous efforts of the Foundation staff and supporters are responsible for the record level of giving. These difficult times we live in make fundraising more challenging and more critical at the same time," said FWFK Founding President and Fire GM Peter Wilt. "Everyone associated with the Foundation should be proud of the good works that have come from their association."

A brief description of the grants recipients follows.

* Robert Morris College, Science and Technology Enrichment Program (S.T.E.P.) - The $5,000 grant will enable the partnership between the FWFK and Robert Morris College to continue by furthering the S.T.E.P. program. The grant will help achieve the overall goal of the program, which is to increase science self-efficacy, interest, achievement, and representation of minorities within the sciences. The program serves children from two inner-city elementary schools within the Chicago Public Schools system and helps students learn applications of physics and biology principles through the game of soccer while focusing on fitness, healthy bodies and minds. Collegiate level soccer players are among the guest lecturers that help to educate the students.

* Family Focus -- This $6,000 grant will provide continued funding for the Family Focus Primary Prevention program. The program is designed to open opportunities for underserved youth to participate in free activities throughout the school year and as well as in the summer. The program's recreation and sports component will be enhanced through the grant, enabling Family Focus to support additional youth in the program as well as upgrade and replace sports equipment.

* CasaCentral -- This grant was provided to help support a pilot soccer program through the CasaCentral Youth Services Program. The program assists at risk kids ages 12-19 in developing and maintaining healthy lifestyles by engaging them in constructive activities during after school hours. The program challenges youths to identify and cultivate their talents both in sports and in the classroom. The soccer program component demonstrates the value in crossing cultural barriers and in fostering self-esteem, discipline, and teamwork. CasaCentral was awarded $5,000 to help realize these goals.

* Boys Hope Girls Hope -- This organization's mission is to help at risk adolescent children by providing value-centered, family-like environments and quality education. The $3,000 grant will help the organization provide its scholars services of housing, meals, clothing, private education, medical care, counseling and collegiate financial aid.

* Gads Hill Center - The Gads Hill Center has received a $3,000 grant for a new Sports and Sportsmanship program that will serve low-income kids in Chicago's Pilsen, Little Village, and North Lawndale neighborhoods. The grant will enable Gads Hill Center to expand its excellent Sports and Sportsmanship program. Gads Hill Center is a family resources center established in 1898 and partners with communities to develop the assets of their children, youth, adults, and families.

* Glenwood School -- Glenwood School serves at risk children that have failed academically and have experienced a life that is disrupted by the death of one or both parents, divorce, separation, and/or poverty. Students are often housed at Glenwood School during the week and participate in a variety of programs that serves the child's academic and social needs, in addition to teaching basic human responsibilities. The $5,000 grant will assist Glenwood start up its own soccer team.

* Horizons for Youth -- Horizons for Youth supports low-income elementary school students through educational and recreational programs. The mission of the organization is to create opportunities for and build relationships with children from low-income families so that they may conceive and achieve their dreams. The Foundation's $3,000 grant will go towards helping Horizons for Youth continue its Summer Wilderness Camp, which is offered through the organization's Child Enrichment Program.

* Chicago Youth Programs -- Chicago Youth Programs was formed in 1984 and serves at-risk, urban youth in the Cabrini Green housings projects. The organization's youth programs provide an aggressive, community-based approach to the health and social issues that affect the areas they serve. The organization has been awarded with a $6,000 grant that will help pilot the organization's Summer Soccer Camp and indoor soccer activities in the Cabrini Green and Washington Park areas. The camp will combine academic and athletic programs.

* American Lung Association -- This $6,000 grant will help the American Lung Association continue its efforts in tobacco prevention and asthma awareness. The program uses Chicago Fire players as role models in school assemblies to stress and reinforce these messages.

* CLASA (Chicago Latin American Soccer Association) -- CLASA is one of the largest Hispanic soccer leagues in the country. The continued funding to this organization allows CLASA to expand opportunities for underprivileged children as it relates to playing the sport of soccer. The $25,000 grant - the largest grant awarded this spring by FWFK - will be used to assist CLASA's continued commitment to youth soccer by providing top-level training to those who cannot afford it.

* National Safety Council -- The mission of the NSC is to protect lives and promote health. A $5,000 grant will assist the NSC in expanding its message of living a healthy lifestyle to the communities it serves. Their messages of seat belt safety and poison awareness, among others, provide positive examples to people in the communities it is involved in.

The FireWorks for Kids Foundation is a non-profit organization, which has been established to help the Chicago Fire continue its service and commitment to the community through grants to charitable groups catering to the development of economically disadvantaged children throughout the Chicagoland area.

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