Tires, Lisbon, Portugal

For the first time ever I traveled to Portugal for programs. If my memory serves, it was our first time in Europe for a program. I am completely aware that Portugal would never be the first place that comes to mind when looking at the work our charity does, the communities we partner with, and the kids we exist for, but I knew there was a need. 

When Around the Worlds started back in 2015, we wanted to connect under-served communities with the necessary resources to play the game of soccer. Unfortunately, besides soccer balls purchased out of my own pocket, we didn’t really have many resources at all.

So in that same year, I had begun doing collection drives for new and gently-used soccer balls. We would run them in our local community, with boxes at churches, dental offices, libraries and more.

I was excited about it because it gave the local community, kids, and the next generation an opportunity to be involved in something greater than themselves. Sure, they might not be able to travel to these communities, but they could pass along a soccer ball that would eventually make the journey into the hands of someone who really needed it.

“I wanted them (the local community) to know that their actions, no matter how great or how small, could positively impact the lives of children all over the world.”

These donation drives had been very successful, collecting nearly 100 soccer balls for us to distribute at the conclusion of our programs. These numbers, coupled with purchased soccer balls thanks to small donors from the jump, would hold us over for months of programs, easily.

In November of 2015, I received an email from a local mother, a teacher at a nearby school. She prefaced her email with words of her late father-in-law, a great man and an avid soccer player from Portugal. Basically, her children had caught wind of our ball collection campaign and immediately began writing letters to friends and family to donate on their grandfather’s behalf. 

She began to explain how in the midst of immense grief and sorrow, the family found solace in this therapeutic process of collecting equipment for other kids to play with. Later that November, she shared that the children had collected over 50 soccer balls, which she gave me permission to bring wherever I pleased for programs.

I recalled an earlier conversation we had shared, where she explained that her father-in-law would have always loved to have a real soccer ball of his own as a child. I immediately knew exactly what had to be done. Doing our absolute best to honor a great man’s legacy, I vowed to her that I would bring the soccer balls to Portugal, where we had a program set up with a local orphanage – Casa da Crianca de Tires, a gesture that brought her to tears, but one that I knew was the least I could do to pay tribute to a father and his family.

It took about a year and a half, but that program finally came to life in April of 2017. I showed up and was met with a huge hug from the orphanage’s executive director. Then, other staff members greeted me with high fives, handshakes, and other introductions – we talked about the Portuguese league, the local team called Sporting Lisbon, and early years Cristiano Ronaldo.

The kids came out excited, as I navigated the Portuguese language as best as I could, mainly speaking Spanish – hoping they might understand, but mixing in other Portuguese words I had learned earlier in the week. We ran through some small passing drills and dribbling techniques, taking the shape of a relay race format.

After, we broke into some more one-on-one lessons, with shooting, skill moves, and even some soccer volleyball out in the parking lot. Some of the kids were orphaned, while others had parents currently incarcerated in a nearby prison, and others were refugees from Syria, etc.

After all was said and done, we distributed the soccer balls and every kid received one, quick to say thank you with a big, tight hug. Then, with new soccer balls in tow, we hopped in a van and drove down to the beach to enjoy some beach soccer, some waves, and some sun – to wrap up a wonderful program on the European continent.