By Scott Brinton
A soccer player, she came up with an idea: collect used cleats, shin guards and soccer balls and donate them to the underprivileged.
Jackie's idea led to two significant partnerships. One was with Lesly Williams of the East Meadow-based Haiti Soccer Project, a nonprofit group that collects soccer equipment and sends it to poor children in Haiti. The other was with the East Meadow Soccer Club, which collects used equipment at its annual Covanta Soccer Tournament and delivers it to the Sullivan family. The Sullivans then send it to children in need in countries like Haiti, with help from the U.S. Soccer Foundation's Passback Program.
At this year's Covanta Tournament Aug. 23-25, the EMSC collected nearly 1,300 pairs of cleats, shin guards and soccer balls.
Steve Sullivan, Jackie's father and a Lawrence High School social studies teacher, said, "Without the East Meadow Soccer Club, Jackie would still be collecting 250 to 300 cleats a year. East Meadow has been absolutely fabulous." Sullivan said this year's collection at the Covanta Tournament was the best yet. He was especially pleased to receive 200 soccer balls, which are often hard to come by, he said.
This year the East Meadow club wanted to send the bulk of the collected equipment to Iraq, because the father of a club member is serving in the U.S. military there. The father, who did not want to be identified for security reasons, said that young people in Iraq have virtually nothing. American soldiers give soccer equipment to the children to help build friendships with the Iraqis.
The Sullivans, including older brother Michael, collect used equipment throughout the year for the Haiti Soccer Project and the Passback Program. Anyone interested in donating can e-mail Michael Sullivan at sully49@optonline.com.
Many children from the Merricks and Bellmores belong to the East Meadow Soccer Club. More than 6,000 took part in this year's Covanta Tournament, the largest youth soccer competition in New York state and one of the largest in the Northeast.
Comments about this story? SBrinton@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 203.
