Essex Castle Bike Ride Saturday 18 July 2009 and Suffolk Coast Bike Ride  Sunday 9th August 2009

Dear All

As many of you know, I have now done the above bike rides for a charity very close to my heart, Spirit of Soccer. The first one was 25 miles around the Essex Countryside north of Colchester. I done the course in a respectable 1 hour and 48 mins, although I was hoping to do it in one hour 30mins. Unfortunately, strong head wins, a hilly course and 5 pints of lager the night before stopped that from happening!

My second ride along the Suffolk coast was done in a personal best time. Despite a corporate race day at Newmarket the day before, I completed the 37 mile course (was supposed to be 35 miles, but some joker took down a sign which resulted in 900 riders having a 2 mile detour)! in 2 hours 9 mins. The scenery was lovely, with perfect riding conditions, no wind at all and a very kind course hill wise, made this ride very enjoyable.

A big thank you to all who have donated so far. I have nearly reached my £1000 target,  so those who have already promised/pledged, please can you donate through the Just Giving site. It is secure and easy to do and you can use maestro/Visa debit and all major credit cards. Please don't forget to tick the gift aid box for personal donations.

 

Thanks again for all your support and all your kind donations to make children less fortunate than our own, live safer and longer lives.

 

Trevor x

 

What is ‘Spirit of Soccer’?

Spirit of Soccer is a grassroots children’s charity which is registered in both the USA and UK and at present operates two soccer coaching projects at in Cambodia and Iraq. Having just won the Beyond Sports Award for "Most Courageous Use of Sport " last week (Scott Lee founder of SOS and I are pictured with the award here) and a donation of £10,000, I really would like to keep the momentum going, by raising more money for this fantastic charity that literally saves children's lives.

What does Spirit of Soccer do?

Spirit of Soccer uses soccer (football) as a medium to educate children in countries affected by war of the dangers of landmines, ERW and unexploded ordnance (UXO).

In 1993, Spirit of Soccer founder and executive director Scotty Lee went to Bosnia to help deliver food and medicine to frontline villages and towns affected by the devastating civil war in the former Yugoslavia. During the next year, Scotty personally witnessed the effects of landmines and UXO on the civilian population.

In 1996, Scotty returned to Bosnia on a coaching trip sponsored by Arsenal Football Club. During this visit, a group of children playing football near Sarajevo Airport accidentally set off a landmine. Three of the players were killed, four others were maimed. All of them were under ten years old.

Sickened by the accident, Scotty Lee devised a way of teaching children about the dangers of landmines and UXO using soccer coaching. Spirit of Soccer was born.

How does Spirit of Soccer work?

SOS work very closely with the Ministries of Education and Sport, along with the national soccer associations, of the countries in which they operate. SOS train both Physical Education teachers and soccer coaches in both the latest youth development coaching techniques endorsed by FIFA, as well as Mine Risk Education (MRE). SOS teach people skills to help them survive in areas affected by landmines and UXO until they are cleared.

These coaches then run soccer activities in their own communties and at each session pass on life-saving information to their young players about the dangers of landmines and UXO.

SOS also provide technical information for teachers and coaches about landmines and youth development in football, as well as thousands of soccer balls and posters (featuring famous players such as Wayne Rooney) featuring messages that reinforce Mine Risk Education.

Does Spirit of Soccer do anything else?

Yes. Spirit of Soccer takes a holistic approach to dealing with areas affected by conflict and through its innovative coaching can deliver:

* Mine Risk Education (MRE)
* Drug and alcohol awareness
* Anti-discrimination and child rights awareness
* Coaching education and qualification

What are ERW, landmines and UXO?

Explosive remnants of war (ERW) is anything that war leaves behind that still has the potential to explode. A landmine is an explosive device which is hidden in the ground and is designed to kill or maim people. Unexploded ordnance (UXO) is basically anything that has been fired or launched but has failed to detonate immediately, such as bullets, artillery shells or cluster bombs. All of these things are a constant danger to people going about their daily lives in parts of the world that have been affected by armed conflict.

How many landmines are there in the world?

Too many. Nobody really knows exactly how many there are but some have estimated there are at least 60 million around the world.

Again, no one knows the exact figure but a least 20,000 people are killed or maimed every year by ERW. Around 40% of them are innocent children. Many are our young soccer players.

How many children has Spirit of Soccer coached so far?

Since 1996 over 45,000 children have received football coaching and Mine Risk Education from Spirit of Soccer-trained coaches in Bosnia, Kosovo, Cambodia and Iraq.

 

So, SOS don’t clear landmines or UXO?

No, but SOS work very closely with de-mining agencies. They can tell SOS in which areas children need to be reminded of the dangers facing them, and tell SOS what kind of explosives are being removed in that area.

In Cambodia SOS ask our players if they know the location of suspected mined areas around their villages. SOS then pass this information onto the de-mining agencies who can then survey the area and clear it if necessary.

However, clearing a minefield takes a lot of time and money. Programmes like SOS teach the children skills to keep them alive and safe until their village is cleared.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now. Even £1 can help safe a young soccer player’s life. The SOS policy is that 95% of the funds they raise are used for the operations on the ground.

Many thanks

 

Trevor