Volunteer San Diego teamed up with VAVi Sport & Social Club to organize a weekend soccer tournament in Linda Vista to highlight the benefits of organized recreation in lower income areas to help the fight against childhood obesity.
“We’re fighting an obesity epidemic in this country and its programs like this that are absolutely wonderful,” County Supervisor Ron Roberts, one of the sponsors of their weekend’s tournament said.
There were over 100 kids participating in the tournament and over 150 volunteers helping to make it happen. The effort is part of Volunteer San Diego’s 2009 Serve-a-thon, with over 40 projects taking place from October 2-4. Projects for the 19th annual Serve-a-thon were selected to bring a spotlight to poverty-related issues.
“We have over a thousand volunteers that are mobilized to work in the area of poverty by planning community gardens that will give access to people who need food, backpacks for kids, working to renovate facilities that are serving those who are economically disadvantaged,” Sue Carter, the Executive Director of Volunteer San Diego said.
VAVi organizes sports leagues and social clubs for over 32,000 local adults and has a volunteer team dedicated to community projects. Keith Cunningham with VAVi explained that the group is busy with a new project every week, “The projects range from fixing up rec centers, beach clean-ups, highway clean-ups, planting trees, there is a variety of things and they meet every Saturday,” he said.
To sign up for the volunteer team visit VAVi’s Web site.
