The Columbus Crew and its charitable arm, the Crew Soccer Foundation, humbly accepted a 2008 Corporate Caring Award for Education on April 10. Business First and sponsors Battelle, Grange Insurance, KPMG, Mills/James Productions, and Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease celebrated corporate philanthropy in Columbus by presenting awards in four categories at the 12th Annual Corporate Caring Awards Luncheon at the Hyatt Regency Ballroom.
In selecting the Crew, the judges made particular note of the organization's school assembly program, its longtime involvement in the ColumbusReads program, its continued commitment to the MLS/NEA Get a Kick Out of Reading program and CSF's sponsoring of the Student-Athlete of the Year Award and Scholarship at the annual Greater Linden Awards and Gratitude Celebration.
"It is extremely gratifying to be recognized for work that is already in itself so rewarding," said Crew General Manager Mark McCullers. "To be selected from among so many worthy Finalists is a tremendous honor and a credit to our entire organization. Through the efforts of many - notably Dave Stephany, Robin Ungerleider and our players, who are terrific community ambassadors - this is truly a team award."
The Crew's unique, interactive school assembly program targets Columbus-area public elementary schools for visits by Crew players and staff. The Crew visited with more than 4,000 children last year, discussing during each program the importance of leadership, teamwork, sportsmanship and staying in school. Students participated in skills demonstrations and were able to practice what they learned.
The organization is now in its ninth consecutive year of providing reading tutors for at-risk kindergartners at nearby Windsor Alternative Elementary School. ColumbusReads works under the umbrella of the Help One Student to Succeed (HOSTS) program, which has been has been tested and proven successful in hundreds of schools throughout the country. ColumbusReads tutors commit one hour per week in the classroom, during their regular work week, for one school year. Each tutor provides two children with a half-hour of tutoring each week.
The Get A Kick Out of Reading/Lee Y Marca Un Golazo! literacy initiative, presented by the Crew, Major League Soccer (MLS), the National Education Association (NEA) and America SCORES, is an innovative bilingual program that uses the sport of soccer to deliver positive messages about the value and fun of reading, targeting school-age kids. In 2007, the fifth annual Crew Reading Challenge provided 5,000 English as a Second Language (ESL) students from area school districts with a soccer-themed folder, poster and bookmark, while inviting them to earn the Readers' Shield Certificate of Accomplishment. In addition to the certificate, students who met the Challenge by reading (or being read to) for 90 minutes a week - the length of a soccer game - for four weeks received two tickets to a Crew home game, courtesy of CSF's Kicks for Kids program.
The Crew and CSF have sponsored the Greater Linden Awards & Gratitude Celebration's Student-Athlete of the Year Award in all four years of its existence and provided a $1,000 scholarship to the winner in each of the last two. The mission of Greater Linden Development Corporation is to improve the quality of life in the Greater Linden community, which Crew Stadium calls home, through housing and economic development, planning, coordinating of services and other community-building activities.
Founded by American sports pioneer Lamar Hunt, the Columbus Crew is Ohio's Major League Soccer club, anchoring a diverse sports and entertainment enterprise. One of the league's Charter Members and U.S. Open Cup champion in 2002, it is currently in its 13th season overall and 10th in first-of-its-kind Columbus Crew Stadium.
