On May 13, despite overcast conditions and an impending rainstorm, Little Village Academy and Walsh Elementary made their way to La Villita Park for an afternoon of fun and engaging soccer games. The teams were joined by coaches from Ernst & Young, who jumped right in to help the kids score some amazing goals. Once the volunteers arrived, they hopped on the field and got straight to work. Rick Marquardt, an Ernst & Young volunteer and member of the Urban Initiatives Junior Board, said, “Every single team lit up when we hopped in, they couldn’t have been more welcoming and excited. It will be the first of many game days for me.”
The first step to any successful game day is creating a team name. While some groups stuck with your typical soccer names, “Barcelona” or “Madrid,” others developed more unique and interesting names such as “The Cougars of America.” Regardless of the name, these teams were steadfast in their commitment to teamwork and scored almost 10 goals per game!
Not only did the kids have a blast, but the coaches from Ernst & Young did too! Joe Corsaro experienced a Work to Play game for the first time. “Work to Play provided us with a wonderful opportunity to act like a kid again, while working with kids to develop leadership and sportsmanship skills. I can’t wait to volunteer again.” Vidhan Desai also volunteered for the first time and said, “It was clear that the work that they are doing has a positive impact on the children and provides a constructive outlet. The event was a great success and allowed for me to give back to the community that was both fun and productive. I look forward to participating in future Urban Initiative events.”
Special thanks to Ernst & Young for coming out to volunteer with Little Village Academy and Walsh and to Rick Marquardt for helping to organize such a great team. We look forward to having you all again very soon!
