This past Saturday, October 19, Orlando City SC headed out to Engelwood Community Center in honor of the Center’s first soccer game of the season. Orlando City was continuing their support of the Center in their quest of making soccer available to the children of the area.
Orlando City first became involved with the Engelwood Community Center in June of 2013 when District 2 City Commissioner Tony Ortiz and Coca-Cola collaborated to renovate the soccer ‘coral’ located at the Center. Orlando City players spent that day with the children and left them with five new soccer balls.
This month, the Orlando City Foundation gave its first micro-grant to Engelwood Community Center for its brand new soccer program, which allowed Engelwood to begin its first organized soccer program for children 4-6 years old. Micro-grants given by the Orlando City Foundation are grants distributed in amounts of $500-$1,000. They are given to organizations, which bring programs to under-served areas.
On Saturday, Orlando was represented by Midfielder Jamie Watson, who took photos with the teams and also acted as the honorary referee for the game. It was the Center's very first game of a hopefully wonderful season of soccer!
Randolph Holloman Program Coordinator shared his thoughts on the day, saying “The parents all applaud the effort that we do here, but I always remind them it would have not been done without the support of the Lions.”
Both the Foundation and Club are happy to be apart of the inaugural season of soccer for the Engelwood Community Center!
