that's one of our long-term goals, to reduce water-borne illnesses," said Stammler.
Stammler, who is about to complete his fifth full season in MLS, has always made an effort to get involved with his club's philanthropic efforts and credits the sport of soccer for giving him the platform to contribute to the betterment of people's lives.
"It definitely opened up a whole network for me to see my dream of Sporting Chance Foundation come to life," he said.
The birth of SCF came in 2006 when Stammler traveled to Haiti on a philanthropic trip, taking part in a number of soccer clinics with then-teammate Jozy Altidore and musical artist Wyclef Jean. His first trip inspired him to create SCF.
"Once we had the initial idea to start Sporting Chance Foundation, the hardest part was finding the reputable non-governmental organization to partner with which would be in Haiti day-to-day to oversee the projects through," said Stammler. "I got lucky and through a colleague I met on my initial trip, she got me in touch with a contact there, who has been instrumental in our success."
The overwhelming support Stammler has received from teammates and fans has been vital to success of Sporting Chance Foundation and has meant a lot to him personally.
"I get into conversations with teammates and fans all the time about what we're doing in Sporting Chance Foundation," said Stammler. "They're all interested and want to help out, whether it be through items for silent auctions, monetary donations or supporting me at one of my events."
On July 20, 2009, Sporting Chance Foundation held a fundraising event at Slate, a popular New York pool hall and lounge. Stammler's Red Bulls teammates were in attendance to support the event, which raised $10,000 for Sporting Chance Foundation's education and clean water initiatives in Haiti.
"At the event, we also had a nice collection of season ticket holders, which meant a lot to me to have their support outside of the soccer field," Stammler said.
The completion of one community water well provides approximately 9,000 Haitians with clean water. "We're doing it for the Haitians, but there's definitely some gratification that comes along with the things that we've done," said Stammler.
Sporting Chance Foundation has the potential to change the lives of thousands of Haitians, subsequently strengthening Haitian communities and providing the opportunity for education for those who otherwise would not have it. In the 2008-2009 school year 60 students were provided academic scholarships through SCF.
"In the next five years, we plan to expand our educational scholarship program to reach out into areas outside of Port-au-Prince including Jacmel," said Stammler. "We already have a selection of community and accelerated scholarships and we would like to increase the number of accelerated scholarships.
"I'm just happy to have the free time associated with being a professional athlete to spend my afternoons and evenings to help out all the people who don't have the little things that we have every single day of our lives."
To learn more about Sporting Chance Foundation, visit www.sportingchancefoundation.org.
Alissa Rotberg is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
