The 107ist Board has agreed to join adidas and the Portland Timbers in supporting an ambitious and exciting project that will use soccer as part of an after-school program focused on elementary students in the Portland area.
The project – Portland Advantage Centers – will meld soccer with after-school programs intended to boost student achievement and literacy. The Centers are envisioned as community gathering places hosting both recreational and organized soccer. Volunteers will work with kids on both schoolwork and soccer.
This project will kick off during the summer with a field-development project, hopefullly at James John Elementary School in North Portland. Plans call for having six Advantage Centers running by this fall, at schools in both Portland and Beaverton.
Timbers Army and 107ist members will be invited to take part in publicity and fund-raising campaigns that will begin in June. In addition, there will be hands-on work parties, the first of which will transform the concrete playground at James John Elementary and install a new artificial turf soccer field.
The board discussed the proposal at three meetings, and formed a subcommittee to work further with project organizers. We felt that the Advantage Centers project aligned well with our mission: "To promote soccer in Portland from the grass roots to the highest professional level."
