Soccer Clubs and Education to Unite Culture.
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>View discussions about this entry Country: United States
Organization: University of Georgia, School of Social Work
Sport - Soccer
Year the initative began (yyyy) - 2007
Positioning in the Mosaic of solutions
What is your signature innovation, your new idea, in one sentence? - To bridge the cultural gap between the Hispanic and Caucasian populations in Gainesville, Georgia through the implementation of soccer clubs as well as education.
Describe your innovation. What makes your idea unique and different than others doing work in the field? - We believe that we are not in control, but that the God we serve is the leader of this innovation. We are founding our design on Christian principles of love and faith that we believe will be able to unite the cultures and empower people in the community to better serve one another. We will educate and teach on the importance of embracing different cultures in order to build better unity. The design will include a system of multiplication, which means that each person impacted will then be challenged to impact another life. Using this model, we will begin impacting lives in Gainesville, and in turn those lives will turn outward and impact others. Hopefully, once the model begins, people all over the world will be impacted.
What are the existing barriers, the biggest problem, your innovation is hoping to address/change? - Other barriers we may face will be the language barriers of many families who are non-english speaking, especially the parents who are solely spanish-speaking. One of our main goals is to unite different cultures, specifically the Hispanic and native U.S. populations in Gainesville, Georgia. Because the populations are still very segregated in this area, we will face the difficulty of attempting to unite the different groups.
Delivery Model: How do you implement your innovation and apply it to the challenge/problem you are addressing? - We will begin soccer clubs that will meet every week day after school. Teams will be designed to include children from different ethnicities. Alongside the soccer games, we will be offering tutoring for the children, english lessons for children and parents, as well as classes on culture. The program will begin at Westminster Church in Gainesville, Georgia in which there is already a large hispanic population and Caucasian population that attends. Through the families that attend this church, we will recruit additional families to attend the program. We will provide bus transportation for any families who need it. Once a week, on Wednesday nights, we will provide a free meal for all participants, in order to promote unity among the different cultures.
How do you plan to grow your innovation? - Through the families that we already have formed relationships with in Gainesville, we will empower them to recruit addition participants for the program. We will also advertise in both the Hispanic and Caucasian communities, in order to promote the program to people who may otherwise not hear about it.
Provide one sentence describing your impact/intended impact. - If implemented, we intend to impact first the Hispanic and Caucasian communities in Gainesville, Georgia, and in turn, impact the entire world through them.
What impact has your innovation had to date/or what is your intended impact? Exactly who are the beneficiaries? - This field has not been completed
Please list any other measures reflective of the impact of your innovation? - This field has not been completed
What are the main barriers to creating or achieving your impact? - This field has not been completed
How is your initiative financed (or how do you expect your initiative will be financed)? - We will finance the program through donations and the support of local churches that we already have relationships with.
If known, provide information on your finances and organization. - Please list: Annual budget, annual revenue generated, size of part-time, full-time and volunteer staff. This field has not been completed
What is the potential demand for your innovation? - There is a high demand in Gainesville because of the large increase in the Hispanic population. This increase has caused a large cultural gap in the area, and separation between the different ethnicities.
What are the main barriers to financial sustainability? - The main barrier, financially, will be receiving the needed donations to start and sustain the program. It will not be a government-funded innovation; therefore, we will not have a stable source of funding, which will be difficult.
What is the origin of this innovation? Tell us your story. - By living in the Gainesville area, we have seen firsthand the need for social change and innovation. By working in a school environment as well as a church youth group, the segregation between the two cultures is shocking! At Westminster church, the Hispanic culture has a separate service from the Caucasian population (in the same building) and there is little to no interaction between the two groups. Many Hispanic children fall behind in school, due to family obligations as well as a lack of english-speaking parents who cannot help with homework. Due to these many social problems, we believe that a movement to unite the cultures and educate the people on the importance of unity will bring stability to the community and cultivate an environment for change. We believe that the Gospel message of Jesus Christ speaks hope, truth, life, and purpose into the lives of hurting people; therefore, our message will one of love and faith, one that will have the power to change lives.
Please provide a personal bio. Note this may be used in Changemakers marketing material. - We are currently in the Masters of Social Work program at the University of Georgia. Both of us are passionate about reaching children and families through using Christian principles. We have been impacted by the growing Hispanic population in Gainesville, and hope that we will be able to impact this group of people.
Contact Information:
EmJen NelTon
To change the world. University of Georgia, School of Social Work (University) Discussions about this entry |
... but, you do realize that many if not most Hispanic people are, in fact, Caucasians. So, are you seeking to bring Hispanic people together with other Hispanic people? Or are you hoping to bring English-speaking Americans together with Latino immigrants? Clarity and an unbiased approach are good things!
Jerry Cricket, interested reader
Hi EmJen (*obtw, great name: I thought to myself: "Now how have I not met this person???"),
I like it! Question: Is this something you two are really thinking about initiating? I think it would be a great outreach to a population that our local churches tend to overlook. My church at home has a seperate service too-- the two "churches" hardly ever interact.
(I am enjoying looking at our class's ideas and adding my own 2 cents, so humor me if you can!). In thinking about a church volleyball league my aunt and uncle were invovled in, what about this: the last thing on the Wed. night program would be adult/parent's soccer: during this time, you could have the tutoring for the kids.
With the popularity of youth soccer and now the Upwards type of leagues... I think ya'lls idea would catch on.
Thanks for being the first to post!
Todd
Todd Hoskins
UNIVERSITY CHALLENGE PARTICIPANT
University of Georgia, School of Social Work