GlobalGiving has always had an undercurrent of jockiness about it. When I first started working here in late 2003 I was immediately recruited for the Myrtle Beach Relay Marathon (aka road trip with beer to SC). We had a shower in our office. Our first Marketing Manager, Tim, was a championship Ultimate Frisbee player. Dennis and Mari would sometimes show up at work in their biking togs. Dana arrived and put us all to shame with her handstands and backflips across the office floor. Meredith played kickball. As for spectators, well let’s just say that the Tar Heel contingent was strong in the early days. March Madness reigned.

As GG has grown the sports enthusiasm has morphed. We might have more weekend warriors, more members of Red Sox Nation, and more March Madness guessers than marathoners, but it’s still a pretty sports oriented place.

We have been thrilled to be part of Nike’s Let Me Play program for the last couple of years, helping great sport and development projects get access to worldwide donors through a special GG page. And now we are psyched to work with the producers of Kicking It, a new documentary that will be opening here in DC this weekend, and will be distributed by ESPN throughout the summer. Kicking It follows several Homeless World Cup teams as they prep for the 2006 Cup. You can support the teams here. It was directed by a local DC star, Susan Koch, and our pal (and one of the producers) Ted Leonsis has been blogging it like crazy over at Ted’s Take.

For you DC folks - or anyone who will be in town this weekend - the US trials are being held at a new soccer (aka football) pitch in downtown DC. Should be a cool set of events, games and promotion for Kicking It.

Go get ‘em, sports fans!

Save to:  

“Sports teaches you character, it teaches you to play by the rules, it teaches you to know what it feels like to win and lose-it teaches you about life. Sports are a microcosm of society.” — Billie Jean King

Her comment cuts through to the true nature of all sport. Sports brings out everything that is the worst and the best in us. It brings out our true spirit – grit, courage, grace, empathy and so much more – hidden by the many layers of our personality. But it’s about who we are and what we can do; no matter your ethnicity, gender, caste. It’s about achieving something exclusively on merit. It’s about walking the talk.

For GlobalGiving Project Leader Tommy Clarke, it’s a way to create incredible social change in Zimbabwe. A former pro football player Tommy Clarke came up with an extraordinary idea – he was going to turn around the tide on AIDS amongst youth in Africa, beginning with Zimbabwe. And he was going to do it by getting them to play soccer – a ubiquitous passion even in the most impoverished areas. Today, nearly 23% more youth now understand the importance of using condoms than they did before. “Now we know we can cure HIV/AIDS with our knowledge and power.” Susan Bulaya, 15 year old recipient of Tommy’s program.

Tommy Clarke isn’t the lone visionary to understand the power of sports as a way to influence and alter behavior, establish new ways to communicate, to empower and heal. Click here to read about another outstanding social entrepreneur who is using sports to provide solutions to challenges like women’s right and HIV/AIDS, youth unemployment.

And guess what? You can support these amazing social entrepreneurs win the Ashoka Changemakers competition! Click here to vote for GlobalGiving Project Leaders Tommy (Grassroots Soccer), Matt (Partners of the Americas), Sarah (Kilifi) and Trevor (Kids League).

Save to:  

Last week we had two great visits from our friends at NIKE. We’ve been helping them cultivate a network of projects around the world using sport to make things better in their communities - from a women’s football association in Rwanda to basketball for youth in one of Nairobi’s toughest slums. NIKE’s Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) employees have been particularly supportive of these projects, and now NIKE is giving all of those employees an opportunity to support them even more. This week, all of NIKE’s EMEA employees can donate $15 to any of these projects, just by plugging in their employee numbers as gift certificate codes. I’m thrilled that NIKE has chosen to give this gift to NIKE employees for the holidays, and the projects will benefit tremendously.

We’re seeing a huge amount of interest in our new gift cards as corporate gifts - whether for employees, partners, or customers. I don’t want to ruin the surprise by revealing who’s buying what and for whom, but we’re rapidly going through our stock of biodegradable cards and have already ordered more to keep up with the demand.

At a previous job, I remember getting a call from a business partner who had just received a holiday gift from me. They’d been taking bets on what exactly the gift was, and they wanted me to settle things. I believe the objects they received were meant to be a pencil and sticky note holder, and I was happy that they’d brought some entertainment to the office, but I’m sure those gifts went right in the landfill after the betting was over.

Thanks to NIKE and all of the other GlobalGiving partners who are giving a meaningful holiday gift this year!

Save to: