Lose the Shoes is a barefiit soccer torunament held every year in several high schools and universities around the world as a fundraising campaign for Grassroot Soccer. Grassroot Soccer use these funds to provide AIDS education to the many people who struggle with the disease in the African continent.
Jordan Wright
While in our graduating year at West Point Grey Academy, my friend, Alex, and I decided to finally go through with our dreams of organizing an event that combined our love for the sport of soccer and our desire to help those in need. What ensued was Lose the Shoes 2008, an incredibly fun-filled day of soccer and raising money for innovative AIDS education in southern Africa. The event was so successful that we decided to make it an annual occurrence with hopes of it growing in size and status over the years. This year, the fourth year of organizing the tournament, we have been constituted as an AMS club with an extremely dedicated group of executives and club members. I am confident that this year's tournament will be the best one yet.
Lauren Wright
As volunteer coordinator, I am in charge of contacting and training all volunteers involved in the event. If you would like to help out, there is definitely a position and shift fit for you. Through an interviewing process and orientation beforehand, I will prepare you for your specific responsibilities during the event ranging from manning the sign-in table to set-up or clean-up to field marshal. Volunteering at this Vancouver Grassroot Soccer Tournament is a great experience for everyone and supports an amazing cause.
Anas Salloum
I joined LTS two years ago as a vice president and in the past years I have seen this club grow tremendously. I am absolutely stoked for what we have planned for this year! My duties here including creating and maintaing this website, coordinating sponsorships and planning events with my team. Establishing this website two years ago was a big step towards easier registration and a bigger Lose the Shoes and we hope to get enough support from our sponsors to make this tournament rock even more. For this event, I will also be working on securing the funding necessary to cover the event’s setup costs, as well as some exciting prizes for tournament winners! Hope everyone has their calendars marked!
IyaD Salloum
I am the promotions coordinator for this year's Lose the Shoes soccer tournament. I am an avid fan of the beautiful game, so when I heard about Lose the Shoes initiative that involves channeling the powers of soccer towards charity, I just could not resist getting involved! I was in charge of setting up the Lose the Shoes Freestyle Competition at UBC this year and it was a blast! Live long and freestyle!
Ana Ulloa
I am the Global Lounge Rep for LTS at the UBC Simon K.Y. Global Lounge and Resource Centre. I mostly network with other GL club members so that the LTS network and family can grow further and more people can be familiar with this awesome cause. I joined LTS in 2010 because I have a strong passion for soccer and I love being able to use it as a means for something even greater such as AIDS prevention. I am extremely excited for this year’s tournament!
Cristian Vadeanu
Naomi Kasteel
Joanna Cho
Lara Brewster
About GRS:
Founded by former professional soccer players in 2002, Grassroot Soccer (GRS) trains African soccer stars, coaches, teachers, and peer educators in the world’s most HIV-affected countries to deliver an interactive HIV prevention and life skills curriculum to youth. Translating research into action and leveraging the excitement around the 2010 World Cup, GRS attracts and engages young people through schools, community outreach, and social multimedia (e.g. magazines and TV). GRS has educated more than 270,000 kids via its ‘Skillz’ curriculum, and is a leader in the sport for development movement.
Brief History:
Grassroot Soccer, Inc. became a registered 501(c)3 charitable organization in 2002. Founder, Tommy Clark, MD conceived of the idea after having played soccer professionally in Zimbabwe where he witnessed first hand both the devastation of HIV and the fanatical popularity of soccer. Together with a group of friends who had similar experiences, he and co-founders Methembe Ndlovu, Ethan Zohn and Kirk Friedrich created Grassroot Soccer. The core group traveled to Zimbabwe in 2002 and with the support of advisory board member, Albert Bandura, consultants and local stakeholders, developed and piloted an interactive soccer-themed HIV prevention curriculum that was first implemented in Zimbabwe in 2003. After a positive independent evaluation of the project by The Children’s Health Council, a Stanford University affiliate group, GRS received a three-year program grant in 2005 from The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to expand its work.
The Team
Grassroot Soccer has expanded to an international team of employees and volunteers. As GRS has grown, several well-respected HIV prevention experts have served in an advisory capacity including Albert Bandura, Martha Brady, Douglas Kirby, Thomas Coates, and Helen Epstein.
With an annual budget of $4.2 million, 61 employees and over 300 volunteers in South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe and the United States. GRS delivers its Skillz interventions to youth between the ages of 12-18 every day across this geography and regularly hosts training events for staff and volunteers.
Core Principles:
1. Build a passionate, accountable and efficient organization
2. Deliver programs through an effective and scalable model that uses football to have a significant impact on the prevention of HIV/AIDS.
3. Be leaders in Sport for Development and HIV Prevention fields by creating, evaluating and sharing innovative concepts and tools.
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