Storck candy company, known for its favorites like Werther’s, Riesen and Mambas, is a committed supporter of Urban Initiatives. This past Wednesday, they once again showed their committment by hosting the annual Storck-Urban Initiatives event at Chicago Indoor Sports center. Their team of almost 20 volunteers coached our kids on the field, distributed Storck game day jerseys and hosted a healthy post-game dinner for our kids and their families. The Storck volunteers truly upheld their company’s motto, "Storck: Part of your world."
The Work to Play teams from Jenner Academy, Sherman School of Excellence and Libby School were buzzing with excitement as they rolled off the buses. As soon as the kids arrived at the indoor center they were given the special edition Storck jerseys. One of the Libby players slipped on his jerseys and was showing it off to his teammates when he overheard a volunteer say, "You guys get to keep these." He looked up in wide-eyed disbelief and shouted, "No way! We get to keep these?!"
On the field, the Storck volunteers served as coaches, cheerleaders and mentors to the players. Immediately, special friendships were formed between the kids and volunteers. Coach Manuel, a Storck volunteer and avid soccer fan, couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw one of the kids pull off a Maradona move!
Following the soccer matches, the kids and families were treated to a healthy and delicious spread of tacos, chili and fresh fruit. The taco meat was a healthy alternative, made from ground turkey, and plain Greek yogurt disguised itself as sour cream. The food was a big hit, so much so that a couple days later when the Jenner team visited Chicago Indoor Sports again the entire team was asking their coach if there was going to be more food following the soccer games.
The kids showed their gratitude to the generous Storck volunteers by giving them Urban Initiatives dog tags and colorful Urban Initiatives bracelets branded with positive traits such as "Respect" and "Teamwork." The volunteers were visibly touched as they gave the kids big hugs.
"It was a great day and a lot of fun for all!" said Coach AJ, one of Storck’s volunteers. The following day at school, Coach Simba saw many of the kids from his team proudly wearing their green Storck jerseys and telling their classmates about how much fun they had at the event!
