Monday, Sep. 15, 2008

Opinion: Rivals come together for charity

So you don’t think sports offer teaching opportunities for kids?

You’ll think twice if you spend any time Sept. 23 at the Olathe District Activity Center.

Olathe North and Olathe Northwest will square off in a varsity boys soccer contest. The two schools and these teams in particular are heated rivals.

But when the squads meet for a junior varsity and varsity doubleheader beginning at 5 p.m. that Tuesday, there will be a great more on the line than bragging rights in a soccer game.

The Eagles and Ravens will honor three Dream Factory children at halftime and hope to raise the $9,000 needed to finance a dream for each ailing child.

“I hope there’s a message there,” said Amy Allen, the community liaison for the ONW Boys Soccer Booster Club. “Yes, we’re rival schools, but there’s a bigger picture than that. It’s about bringing the community together. Of course, when the boys step out on the field, we want to win.”

Tina Trenary, the secretary of the Olathe North Boys Soccer Booster Club, organized the event.

Last fall, she put together a benefit for Oceans of Mercy that took place during the Ravens’ game against Olathe East.

It was such a smashing success that Trenary, whose son Max Doby is a senior for North, sought out another charity for the 2008 season.

“As a school and community, we need to give back to others,” she said. “We specifically take on charities concerning children, because we all have children of our own and understand what it would be like if something were to happen to one of our boys.”

Allen, whose son Brandon, a junior, played for the Eagles soccer squad as a freshman, didn’t need much convincing to throw her full support behind the project.

“We want our boys to be involved,” Allen said. “They’re at an age where everything’s about them and they’re blessed to be in a position to be like that. Not everyone is, but we want to keep them aware that it’s important to give back and that it matters.”

Allen lost a niece to Williams Syndrome, so helping make dreams come true for Frances, Bradly and Hillarie is cathartic.

“Giving back in this kind of way helps me honor her,” Allen said.

Frances is a 12-year-old living with brain cancer. She wants to go on a two-week Sea Trek Excursion with her father, where she can scuba dive from a yacht.

Bradly, 12, lives with juvenile diabetes. He wants to meet President Bush but is willing to settle for a Disney Cruise with his family if the Commander-in-Chief is unavailable.

Hillarie, 18, had a heart transplant that her body is rejecting. Her dream is an electronics shopping spree.

The three children will be welcomed at halftime and showered with gifts from the North and Northwest soccer teams.

Fans in attendance will have various opportunities to help the two programs reach their monetary goal.

Former Kansas City Chief and current MidAmerica Nazarene University linebackers coach Anthony Davis’ charity, the For Your Next Play Foundation, is sponsoring a silent auction.

Items ranging from autographed Pele jerseys to autographed photographs of Gale Sayers and, of course, plenty of Chiefs and Royals goodies will be up for grabs to the highest bidder.

The Eagles and Ravens also will have items up for bid.

Davis also will stick around for an autograph session from 6:30 to 7 p.m., which will include additional Chiefs players and perhaps some Kansas City Wizards.

Pridemaker Apparel will be selling commemorative T-shirts to benefit the cause, while Candice Diddle, who owns Capture a Moment in Time Photography, will use her talents to document the evening. CDs of those photos will be available for a donation.

Channel 9 and Metro Sports also will cover the halftime show and soccer game, so if nothing else, the public should come out to try and get on television.

Dave Miller, whose daughter passed away last fall, also will be on hand with his inflatable Pop-A-Shot basketball game, which can be played for a donation as well.

Both booster clubs have committed $500 each as has Heartland Plumbing, and all gate revenue will be donated to the endeavor.

“I haven’t talked to many players other than my son directly, but he thinks it’s pretty cool to be doing something like this and trying to help kids that don’t have what we have,” Trenary said.

It’s obviously a worthwhile cause. And the community has an obligation to make sure the night is a success.

“It’s important for our young men to learn the value of charity and giving back to the community,” North coach Dave Glassman said. “This is a great way to encourage that, and so it’s something we hope to do every year.”

The booster clubs are one-third of the way to the $9,000 goal already.

“We’re depending on the auction and other activities at the game to make up the difference,” Trenary said.

There also will be a McDonald’s night from 4 to 8 p.m. on Sept. 16 at the McDonald’s on the southwest corner of Parker (K-7) and Santa Fe St. Twenty percent of the profits from that time will benefit the Dream Factory endeavor.

Allen also indicated they hope to have a Donuts for Dreams Day that morning as well.

Make plans to be at ODAC on Sept. 23.

The festivities start when the gates open for the junior varsity game, which begins at 5 p.m., and will continue through the end of the varsity contest.

The rainout date for the event is Thursday, Oct. 2.

For more information about the Dream Factory, visit www.kcdream.org.

For more information about the booster clubs, contact Trenary at westtrenary@sbcglobal.net or Allen at rt44drpepper@sbcglobal.net.

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