I’d already been an avid soccer player throughout my young life, and I brought along a ball on the trip. Ethan King (Charity Ball): At first, the primary goal was just to utilize my dad’s organization and what they were doing to get soccer balls to kids in Mozambique. Ethan has set a fundraising goal of $100,000 for this year because the teen wants to do “big things.” The excitement of the World Cup should help him reach that milestone, but he draws daily inspiration from his experience on that first trip to Mozambique. In the summer of 2009, when I was 10 years old, I went to Mozambique (Africa) with my dad to help restore broken water wells in rural communities. Tell us about the movement, and how you see it spreading around the world. My dad and I ended up Skyping back and forth with Neven and he was completely serious about wanting to help us. When someone donates $25, a child in a developing country is hand-delivered his or her own brand-new, quality soccer balls.A Game-Changing Charity Ethan King (Charity Ball): I wouldn’t have any of this if it wasn’t for my dad. “Anyone can apply to take soccer balls with them to a place they are traveling to,” explains Ethan, who returned to Mozambique last summer to help organize a soccer tournament and deliver balls. I took my soccer ball along thinking I might be able to get a few pick-up games going with the local kids. this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines. Nate Abaurrea (SoccerNation): Tell us about the tournament you guys designed. We are already to $10 thousand. My whole family has been greatly supportive. I currently play NCAA Division I Soccer for Butler University. I could see it in their faces. For one 15-year-old, a trip to Mozambique sparked an idea that has impacted children across the developing world. These kids didn’t even have one. It creates a human connection, showing everyone just how similar we really are, and it all comes back to the game of soccer and the ball itself. 2016 Michigan State Cup Header Goal. ), Your email address will not be published. I believe this what makes our organization so special. “He’s providing ideal opportunities that can have game-changing effects. © 2020 Charity Ball. And unlike many others who wanted to know more, he told Ethan he could to Google him. Charity Ball is a soccer charity that provides new, quality soccer balls to kids in poverty-stricken communities around the world. It’s kind of incredible when you think of it that way, that something so small can grow into something so powerful. Up until that moment, most of these kids never played the game of soccer with a real soccer ball. I’m 20 years old and I love The Beautiful Game. All the people, men, women, and children came out for the games. Cancel Unsubscribe. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. In 2009, Ethan King and his father Brian took a trip to the African country to help increase the availability of clean drinking water. We flew out to Mozambique and we were privileged to have the whole event filmed. Soccer. Smiles and dreams, Charity Ball in action. Nate Abaurrea (SoccerNation): How did Charity Ball grow from there, and what did that specific experience do to inspire you as a young man, an American kid spending time in southeast Africa? Ethan King (Charity Ball): It’s funny, because it really did just start as a side project, a dream of a ten-year-old kid, as you said. Nate Abaurrea (SoccerNation): Ethan, thank you so much for sharing your dream with us. • Woman with Down Syndrome Fights for Freedom – and Wins, • Texas Man Builds Wheelchairs for Dogs in Need, Know a hero? They loved soccer, but Ethan discovered they played with makeshift balls made of trash, plastic bags and twine. My idea was that I wanted to get 500 brand-new, high quality soccer balls back to Mozambique. © Soccer Nation™, a subsidiary of Lococo Sports, Inc. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Life. I was ten years old. More people heard about it and the growth was exponential. I can’t thank those guys enough for what they did. They get gifts, money and such. Ethan King (Charity Ball): I like to tell people that Charity Ball is an organization where you can help out on whatever level you’d like, using whatever you do best to help others. With a little bit of help from businesses, professional soccer players and a few famous faces, like Katie Couric, King’s organization has been able to provide soccer balls to children from Nicaragua, Zambia and India, just to name a few. (You can watch the 9 minute video HERE). Dad repairs non-functioning water wells in impoverished African villages, so when he went to rural Mozambique in 2009 Ethan tagged along. Ethan King (Charity Ball): At first, the primary goal was just to utilize my dad’s organization and what they were doing to get soccer balls to kids in Mozambique. And it has given opportunities to thousands of kids who might otherwise not have them. “I just wanted to do more because I knew I could.”. I realized that with the life I had back home (in Michigan), and with the work that my dad was involved with in Africa, that I had the resources to keep giving back. And tacos. Sign up here for Live Today, HuffPost Live's new morning email that will let you know the newsmakers, celebrities and politicians joining us that day and give you the best clips from the day before! She then sold the jewelry and donated that money to Charity Ball. I was coming up on my 11th birthday, and was basically cold calling people asking if they could help. We want to be a great charity in today’s world. I even developed a business strategy with the help of my dad, my uncle and some other family friends. I had to leave for soccer practice right after I saw the email, so I asked my dad to send a response. ”. Many people around the world lack the money and access to real soccer balls. All rights reserved. I’ve had the privilege to play organized soccer on teams in South Africa and in the USA. Ethan King (Charity Ball): When most kids in America graduate from high school, they have a party. Nate Abaurrea (SoccerNation): Tell us a little about the background of Charity Ball and how this project originally got started? King, who had been visiting the country for two weeks with his dad, started by giving away his soccer ball, the first of 4,000 balls that have been hand-delivered to kids in 22 countries since King, now 14 and a high school freshman in Michigan, began Charity Ball in 2010. (Be sure to visit CharityBall.org and stay tuned to SoccerNation.com for more information on this ever-growing humanitarian project. And if social media is utilized the right way, Charity Ball can grow into something special.”Big-League Support Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Charity Ball Founder Ethan King On His Inspiration For Bringing Soccer Balls To Kids Across The World. Ethan King (Charity Ball): My pleasure. It was a focal point of the documentary-short and the images shown were truly magnificent. Center mid, Ethan King displaces Bolten player and drops in a smooth shot over the keepers reach for a league goal. The teams were all outfitted in different club kits. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED is a registered trademark of ABG-SI LLC. To have other people around the world be able to see what we were doing was incredible, and so valuable to the growth of Charity Ball. “It was great to see how involved and passionate Ethan was,” Neven says. All Rights Reserved. “This came from the heart,” says his father, Brian King, 44, an executive director at Vox United, who was repairing water wells in Mozambique, when Ethan discovered his passion for giving. Survivor: Africa winner, Old School Survivor Shop, Cancer Survivor, Grassroot Soccer Co-Founder, inspired philanthropist, motivational speaker, CBD Wellness Advocate For more inspiring stories, read the latest issue of PEOPLE magazine. Many professional players, including world-famous superstar Pelé, began by playing with makeshift soccer balls. I’ve discovered that the simple gift of a soccer ball not only has power to change a kid’s life, it has the ability to revolutionize society. Ethan King | Club Soccer | College Soccer | College Soccer Recruiting | Elite Soccer Shop In four short years, the organization has donated 4,000 new soccer balls in developing countries around the world. I thought to myself, I’ve got at least seven or eight soccer balls back home in my garage.