Cavalry Division
Sports and world peace
Like baseball, basketball is a favorite pastime of America. In the evening, the Rockets Houston won the NBA Championship in 1995, the streets of Houston were packed with crowds of people and seems to be a common denominator among all, regardless of their race, color or creed …. that standardization was sport. It did not matter if they were not really basketball fans, they were fans of the winners being and that night we were all winners.
There is something happening in Iraq right now that reminds me of the time nostalgic: Operation Soccer Ball. Apparently, the Iraqi people, especially Iraqi children, are passionate about football. In fact, football is to them, but we call it soccer. You can compare their passion for the game of soccer to our love of football or baseball. The whole street, field, farm or aboveground dusty side of the road is a real football ground in Iraq. According to reports from soldiers abroad Iraqis are all passionate about pursuing some form or manner of a soccer ball. If they do not have a football, they are anything use as a substitute – even a rock – and play with him like they were playing for the World Championship.
The Iraqis need soccer balls, and he who started Operation Football, in my opinion, is brilliant. He started as a way to convey the good will of America and American soldiers giving Iraqi children soccer balls they desperately want.
The love of sport, in this case is football, is becoming an instrument of peace and as a common link between the U.S. and the Middle East. It transcends cultural differences and language barriers and it is also serious mitigating feelings of some Iraqis who prefer not to see the U.S. presence in their country.
I found the football operation from a local radio station in Tampa Bay – WQYK. They contacted my company, PostcardMania, print posters to promote the operation of football in an effort to raise money for the cause and allow soccer to be sent to soldiers in three different locations in Iraq. The purpose of the mission was to consolidate relationships with future leaders of Iraq by giving soccer balls to Iraqi children.
The program actually started in Tampa by a woman named Gina McDowell whose son, PFC McDowell, is serving in the Army Reserve currently stationed in Al Hillah, Iraq. It is part of the reconstruction Provincial Team attached to the U.S. State Department. Gina had the idea of ​​collecting soccer balls, when his son told him of the impact they have on Iraqi children. She then contacted WQYK to help spread the word and help in the collection.
Operation Football has been executed by the local VFW. (There may be other programs like this across the country.) And PostcardMania printed posters – pro-bono. We do a lot of pro-bono work for charities and has recently started to do more for the military. We were contacted last summer to help Georgia USO 18,000 in printing postcards for a large deployment of U.S. troops so they have to write postcards to their families one last time before boarding the plane on their trip to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Well, I received a letter the other day that Operation Soccer Ball was a great success – More than $ 8,000 was raised for the project and all went directly to the cause that has raised WQYK over 3500 soccer balls and enough money for shipping (it costs about $ 2 to ship each ball!). A noteworthy that really stands out is that after been friends with a soccer ball, Iraqi children have risked their own security by disclosing the whereabouts of explosive Improvised numerous (explosive devices) and insurgents to our soldiers. Wow. It's amazing to me that a small gesture of a soccer ball can affect so many lives.
It is the pleasure in life, or even contemplating the pleasure that enriches our lives. For some, it might be a trip to the Bahamas. For others, it could be a walk in the past with an old friend … or the love of a good game of basketball. But for Iraqis, this is the game of soccer. And many good people are safer to create a haven of peace in worn-torn Middle East with just a few balls – which would have thought?
Michael, a soldier in Iraq who has a blog on the net, gave some Kiowa pilots of the 1st Cavalry Division, which had declined soccer their helicopters after completing their missions. One particular story really struck a chord.
"I remember this time where we are staying, ready to drop some balls and we see this kid standing in the distance. He had the arm back to his ear, ready to throw a stone at us. I shot one ball and he sent her. The kid was just a second ago, as he really was not sure what do, but he dropped the rock, grabbed the ball and gave us the green light. It was cool -. "Chief Warrant Officer Sonny Hinchman, Kiowa pilot.
Tampa Bay program has finished but I hope this story will inspire others across the country to develop initiatives similar in their cities. More companies may participate by donating soccer balls – cash donations or donations of soccer balls is possibly with a company logo on each ball. What a great way to gain exposure and positive publicity after donating a few thousand bullets. Even large conglomerates such as Nike, Microsoft or even municipal governments as NY, Atlanta, Houston and Tampa Bay can join the movement. Heck – Let's soccer balls instead of bullets rain. Who knows, we might just be the champion of the World Cup on our hands: Team Iraq.
Other resources:
www.anysoldier.com
www.Spiritofamerica.net
www.postcardmania.com
www.wqyk.com
http://adayiniraq.blogspot.com
www.mnf-iraq.com
About the Author
Joy Gendusa founded PostcardMania (www.PostcardMania.com) in 1998, her only assets a computer and a phone. By 2005 the company did over $12 million in sales, employed over 100 people and made Inc. Magazine’s prestigious Inc 500 List as one of the 500 fastest growing companies in the nation. She attributes her explosive growth to her ability to choose incredible staff and her innate marketing savvy.
