Stagg soccer player Piotr Zawislan, a junior, said he was happy to come together with his fellow soccer players as friends to support awareness of domestic abuse. (Supplied photo)
Soccer tournament brings players together for good cause
Last month, more than 100 high schools and thousands of male student athletes competed in a soccer tournament, sponsored by Body Armour. While the players competed on the field, they worked together off the field to collect and donate thousands of name-brand clothing items to a not-for-profit organization.
Twenty-five of the players, representing the thousands of athletes who contributed to the cause, made a special surprise delivery and presentation to the Hope Chest in LaGrange, which provides a means of survival for those seeking safety from domestic violence. Two Stagg High School soccer players, juniors Piotr Zawislan and Kacper Dziubek, were among those students.
The donation delivery coincided with National Self Care Month and helped shine a spotlight on an ongoing societal issue – domestic abuse. Each year in the U.S., more than 10 million Americans suffer domestic abuse – 85 percent of the victims are women. Male students want to empower survivors and their children to escape domestic abuse and provide general essentials.
The Hope Chest resells gently used women’s clothing, footwear and accessories to fund and support Pillars Community Health’s Constance Morris House, an emergency 30-day shelter for domestic violence survivors that provides free physical and emotional health-related services to women and children.
Junior soccer player Piotr Zawislan said he was happy to come together with his fellow soccer players as friends to support awareness of domestic abuse.
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