The following is a post by Shawn Levy on behalf of OPI.
We could dazzle you with stepovers and dekes, but we want to get the ball in the net fast, so here goes: Operation Pitch Invasion needs your help.
We're the oldest of 107IST's charitable initiatives, and we need your time, your ideas, and, yeah, your money (well, some of it) to help our mission thrive.
WHO ARE WE AND WHAT HAVE WE DONE?
In 2008, when the Timbers Army organized itself to lobby for an MLS franchise in Portland, it composed a dream list of things it would do if it succeeded.
At the top of that list? Building, restoring, and maintaining local soccer surfaces, especially in communities where there was no access to quality places to play the beautiful game. That notion was the birth of OPI, and that inspiration still drives us today.
OPI pursues three initiatives:
FRIENDS OF FIELDS Every summer, we host volunteer days in Portland parks and schools in order to restore turf, repair sprinklers and goal frames, and generally spruce up run-down facilities; to date, we've done 40 or so events and touched on dozens of fields throughout the area.
Snake Court at Vance Park, Rockwood
OPERATION BLACKTOP We take corners of pre-existing playgrounds, slap down new lines, anchor some goal frames, and create permanent futsal courts; since 2015, we've built 20 courts in parks and schoolyards all over Portland, as well as in Beaverton, Vancouver, and Battleground.
Robert Grey School in SW Portland
FIELDS FOR ALL In partnership with the Timbers' Stand Together program, we've built side-by-side high-end futsal courts, with brand new asphalt, highway-quality surfacing, and durable fencing, in public areas adjacent to schools, parks, and recreation centers; two of these are in Portland, two in the Rockwood neighborhood of Gresham, and one each in Woodburn and Forest Grove.
Anyone can help fix up the park!
And then there's the one-of-a-kind Bless Field, a fenced-in turf field in the New Columbia neighborhood of North Portland, right next to an elementary school and a Boys and Girls Club.
(You can see all of the places where we've built something right here.)
WHAT'S THE PROBLEM?
1) We're broke. OPI is a lean beast: We've never had a dedicated staff or office; we're just three or four uncompensated volunteers, none of whom has a background in fundraising. Historically, we've received annual support from the 107IST, as well as occasional one-time grants from various organizations and individuals. But we have no regular sponsors. And since the pandemic, donations have fallen significantly while our building costs have more or less doubled.
2) And we're lonely. Our community used to turn out in overwhelming numbers to support our volunteer work, but that has thinned to a trickle. Field days once routinely enticed 50 or more folks; the past few years, we've been lucky to hit 20.
So: Our People: Help us!
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Do you like merch? We're raffling some cool goodies at the No Pity Holiday sale at the Axe & Rose on December 7, and we'll be debuting some OPI-branded stuff in 2025, so keep an eye peeled.
Do you have experience in non-profit marketing or fundraising? Drop us a line and let's chat.
Are you doing any holiday giving, and/or does your employer have a program to match employees' charitable contributions? (We're a bona fide 501(c)(3), fyi.) You can donate here.
Do you have work gloves and some friends or kids who can join you for a few hours of fun outdoor work on a weekend morning in the summer? Subscribe to our email list (at the SUBSCRIBE button here) and we'll let you know when you can join us to restore some local fields.
In short: Reintroduce yourself to OPI, or come meet us for the first time, and…
HELP US KEEP SOCCER CITY USA SOCCER CITY USA!!!
