Back to School Book Drive
Kellyn Acosta Foundation + Chicago Fire Foundation
Donate $5 or donate a book and you are entered to win a signed Chicago Fire team jersey. Every book or $5 donated counts as an entry. All proceeds and donations will benefit Chicago Public Schools.
Sponsored by KPMG
Gage Park Artifical Turf Field
Kellyn Acosta Foundation + Chicago Fire Foundation
We are excited to partner with Chicago Park District to open our first Artificial Turf Field on June 26, 2024. Our shared goal along is to help make soccer accessible to all neighborhoods of Chicago!
Thank you to the Chicago Fire and the Chicago Fire Foundation for helping us make this happen. Our goal is to create year long programming to benefit and better the community. From soccer clinics to educational clinics we plan to leverage this field for good
Get involved or simply sign up for our emails to stay in the know about our upcoming events. Our Ribbon Cutting event is June 26, 2024 and small sponsorship opportunities to be involved are available.
Please contact us for more information! Thank you to all who have made this field possible for our community.
ARTESIA PARK MINI PITCH
Kellyn Acosta Foundation + U.S. Soccer Foundation
Our fundraising project at Artesia Park in Artesia, CA, carries significant importance for our community. We are embarking on the transformation of an underutilized Roller Hockey Rink into a state-of-the-art Mini-Pitch System. Artesia Park, a central hub for our neighborhood, is a place where families and young individuals converge. The necessity for this project stems from the community's overwhelming passion for soccer and the limited availability of safe spaces for them to play. At the heart of this initiative lies the belief in the power of teamwork and the transformative potential of soccer. Artesia High School, situated nearby, with an enrollment of 1,458 students representing a diverse demographic, underscores the significance of this project. With teamwork and the sport of soccer as our guiding principles, we aim to mold these young individuals into successful adults both on and off the pitch, creating a brighter and more vibrant future for our community.
NICK’S KIDS AT NICKERSON GARDENS
Nicks Kids was founded in 2016. Two LAPD/ CSP officers met a family within Nickerson Gardens who explained the dangers of living within the projects. The initial goal was simple: children living within Nickerson Gardens should be able to go out and have fun without fear of something happening to them. Parents wouldn’t fear their children getting into trouble or something negative happening to them while they enjoyed the benefits of being children within a dangerous community. It didn’t take long for more and more children to begin coming out to join us. Many of these children were neighbors but didn’t know each other because their parents did not allow them to play outside, in fear of the danger that lives within these low-income developments.
In less than a year, Nicks Kids impacted every one of our participants in a variety of ways, both social and emotional. Parents loved seeing their children enjoy the benefits of their childhood. Fast forward, we have impacted all of the children who have crossed our program. We instill morals, values, and assist the whole child. We do all we can to help prepare our student athletes for the real world, with mock job interviews, college prep, oral presentations, etc…
Our program continues to benefit those who want to succeed within the community. When signing up, parents know that our goal is that their children are winners in life, not the soccer field. All in all, Nicks Kids is a close-knit program where all student athletes treat each other as family and have built many close-knit relationships. We currently hold a 100% graduation rate, and 85% of our high school graduates are attending college. The remaining 15% are either serving the country or attending trade school. Nicks Kids is about helping those that want to be helped within the Watts community, all with the help of a soccer ball.
