New York, NY and Ossining, NY - The Coalition to Salute America's Heroes (CSAH), a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to helping severely wounded veterans and their families rebuild their lives, today announced a partnership with MLS W.O.R.K.S., Major League Soccer's first league-wide community wide outreach initiative dedicated to addressing important social issues affecting young people.
The partnership calls for teams in several markets to pay tribute to wounded troops at their home games the week of July 1, 2007. Dozens of wounded troops from Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, plus CSAH national spokespeople, will attend six MLS games that week where they will be honored for their sacrifices. CSAH public service announcements featuring D.C. United midfielder and 2006 MLS All-Star Josh Gros will air in each stadium. The partnership will also feature online auctions that will raise money for CSAH programs.
"Our partnership with MLS W.O.R.K.S. is a huge opportunity for us to reach the thousands of soccer fans across the nation to raise awareness about the needs of our returning wounded troops and their families," commented Ray Clifford, executive director for CSAH. "We are grateful to Major League Soccer for their support, proud of their commitment to our severely wounded service members and excited about the future of this partnership."
12 out of the 13 MLS teams will participate in the campaign (the 13th team has a bye week and is not playing that week). Six teams from both the Eastern and Western Conferences will host games: Colorado Rapids at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, FC Dallas at Pizza Hut Park, Houston Dynamo at Robertson Stadium, Kansas City Wizards at Arrowhead Stadium, Los Angeles Galaxy at Home Depot Center and Real Salt Lake at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
"MLS W.O.R.K.S. is thrilled to partner with the Coalition to Salute America's Heroes," said JoAnn Neale, Executive Vice President of Major League Soccer. "MLS teams and players are committed to raising awareness about the needs of our returning wounded troops and their loved ones."
MLS W.O.R.K.S. serves as a platform for both league and team philanthropic programs. Specific areas of focus include health and wellness, education, respect, fair play, leadership, human rights and diversity.
About the Coalition to Salute America's Heroes:
The Coalition to Salute America's Heroes is a non-partisan, non-profit organization that offers several programs to assist disabled veterans who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan: Wounded Hero Emergency Financial Relief (provides urgent financial assistance to disabled veterans), Homes for Wounded Heroes (offers nearly cost-free, new or renovated disability adapted homes to men and women), Hire A Hero (reaches out through a network of organizations to help prepare and place motivated, qualified veterans in quality jobs), Family Support Network (offers special services to help relieve financial and emotional burdens facing heroes and their families), and the Road to Recovery Conferences (all-expense paid educational and service events for wounded servicemen and servicewomen and their families). For more information please visit the website at www.saluteheroes.org.
