Starting in September, SoccerPro opened the application of their Fall 2009 “Awesomeness” Soccer Scholarship. The guidelines were simple and the scholarship was open to any full time collegiate that was actively involved in soccer (a player, fan, owner of a soccer ball) and effectively implemented awesomeness into their life.

SoccerPro received over 2,500 applications from college students across the United States with fantastic stories of soccer, education, adventure, future dreams and service.

After reading through the applications, SoccerPro finally decided on the recipient, Clara Kienzle from Agnes Scott College in Georgia- Congratulations Clara!

Clara is currently the starting striker for the Agnes Scott women’s team, as a freshman (huge deal), and finished the last game of the season by heading the ball in to win the game 1-0. She is studying International Affairs and is looking to join the Peace Corps after graduating.

Thank you to everyone who applied. SoccerPro is looking to do similar soccer scholarships once a year, maybe every semester.

For more information on SoccerPro’s scholarships, visit the scholarship page or email Lauren at lauren[at]soccerpro.com.

Jared Nozick, an 8th grade student at Robert Frost Middle School in Maryland is working to raise money for Kicks 4 Kenya, a charity program committed to providing soccer equipment to African children through is Bar Mitzvah Service Project.

“Ever since I was a little kid, soccer has been a big part in my life. Soccer has really moved me as a player and person,” says Jared. Fortunately, Jared has been lucky to receive all the necessary equipment to become a dedicated soccer player.

After doing some research, Jared came across Kicks 4 Kenya and realized that he had to do something to help out less fortunate players.

Jared will be donating soccer equipment with all of the money raised for his project. If you would like to help Jared and Kicks 4 Kenya, email lauren [at] soccerpro.com.

The Homeless World Cup started in 2004 with a mission to raise awareness of the homeless population and to get people off of the street and into new jobs, a place they can call home and back with their family.

Since then, the Homeless World Cup has grown to 48 nations across the world. Over 70% of the players leave with jobs, playing semi-professional soccer, reuniting with their families, returning to school and helping to coach youth teams. 100% of them leave with the experience of playing for their country and the memories of over 100,000 fans cheering them on.

Everyone at SoccerPro is excited to work closely with the Homeless World Cup and appreciate our fans, followers and customer support as well! From now until the end of September, you can donate to the Homeless World Cup and receive a Free HWC Tee Shirt. All proceeds from the tee-shirts will go directly to the Homeless World Cup.

You may or may not remember that in 2008 SoccerGrow donated new balls, cones and pumps to CML in Kenya to run a soccer tournament involving several rural communities surrounding Nairobi. It brings us great joy to report that this tournament was a triumph, reaching more than 800 women, men and children in those communities. The impact that our relatively small donation made to those people surprised almost all of us on this side of the Atlantic, and its success is a clear testament to the power of football and its ability to bring people together.

Much praise should go to CML and their organization for not only organizing a top-notch tournament for hundreds of people of all ages, but especially for seeing the big picture. With limited resources, CML is proud to minister to and improve the holistic health of people. They make it a point to not just reap the benefits of playing sport, but they also answer the call to lift up people through fulfilling basic needs, education, raising spiritual awareness, and community development and support.

SoccerGrow is most appreciative of Willam, head of CML, who actually is the one doing all the heavy lifting to make his organization tick and he most deserving of the credit.  He wrote:

We are honored to declare that SoccerGrow has been the sole instrumental partner in facilitating the launching and final success of this program. SoccerGrow donated the soccer balls, field cones and ball pumps for this program.

The honor is ours.

I encourage you to check out the video and read the full report and results of the soccer tournament on his blog, it’s truly meaningful to see the faces of the people involved in this great event.

Many thanks to all of you who donated over the holiday season to directly support orphans and students in Kenya! Your tax-free dollars donated through SoccerGrow, our soccer charity, will be doubled, as promised, by SoccerPro and sent on to Kicks4Kenya which is dedicated to changing the lives of school children and orphans in Kenya through the many lessons of soccer, the world’s game.

But don’t forget that the need is still there! You can still donate to the cause of Kicks4Kenya by going to the donation page at SoccerPro.com

New for the New Year:

Be on the look-out for the new Kicks4Kenya t-shirt, which will be coming soon to SoccerPro.com!

Be the first to find out by signing up for SoccerGrow updates.