Family Starts Charity To Give Soccer Cleats To Children Who Need Them
Follow CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter
WEST WINDSOR (CBSMiami) – Soccer is an obsession for millions of kids around the globe.
But many kids in poor countries can't afford to pay for cleats.
One soccer loving family in the u-s decided to do something about that.
For kids in Haiti soccer is a way of life. 18-year-old Erick Noel has played for a decade barefoot in the gravel and grass until this summer.
Boxes full of a thousand used cleats arrived from America giving these kids their first chance to play in shoes.
The generous idea came to light more than a thousand miles away in New Jersey.
Every week the Grescek family holds board meetings with cheese pizza around their kitchen table.
14 hardworking cousins 8 to 17 years-old started a charity collecting used cleats for needy kids a year ago.
To set themselves apart "1KCLEATS4KIDS" set a lofty goal of a thousand pairs for kids in Haiti.
"We wanted to push the kids so if we were going to do this we are going to go for something really big," said Jerry Grescek.
It didn't take long before the colorful cleats poured in. Social media sparked interest from across the country.
"We were collecting cleats by the day and it started to grow every day," Gavin Grescek said.
Then two nonprofits volunteered to pack and ship all of them to haiti.
"It's all about kids helping kids just imagine when you see their smiles that's going to be our closing moment," Jerry said.
It was a moment that Erick had been waiting for, even if he didn't know it until recently.
"I think it's a beautiful gesture and I think God is happy and will bless them," he said.
A word of thanks to new friends half a world away.
1KCLEATS4KIDS has set a new goal of collecting 2,000 cleats.
They plan to pick an inner city in the U.S. this time to distribute them.
