AFC Ann Arbor’s non-profit arm, The Mighty Oak Project, has been quite busy since the pandemic hit. After moving Community Kicks online for 2020 and expanding the program drastically due to the shift in needs, The Mighty Oak Project began looking for other ways to positively impact some of the youth in the community.
On Friday, 150 students and their families in the Spanish Immersion program at Bishop Elementary participated in the inaugural Book & Ball program. Each Bank of Ann Arbor bag included a Mighty Oak soccer ball, a gift certificate to Washtenaw Dairy, a multilingual book about Pele, pencils, bookmarks and player cards and more.
“As with every nonprofit, we've been forced to evaluate how we continue to serve the community and fulfill our mission in a responsible way. Promoting soccer through literacy seemed like the perfect project. We were thrilled to be able to build on our relationship with Bishop Elementary, which was started with the club years ago. When we spoke with Ms. Heredia about this project, she recommended a book about Pele in both Spanish and English. We paired it with a soccer ball to help kids stay active, along with some amazing giveaways from Milk Means More,” said Chair of The Mighty Oak Project, Nick Lacy.
Among the volunteers preparing the gift bags on site was 11-year old, local podcaster, Joziah Jason. His podcast, “READ with Joziah” partnered with the club’s Book & Ball program to promote reading amongst his peers and in the community. Joziah will review the book about Pele that was distributed to kids on his April 26th episode. Students from Bishop Elementary can call Joziah’s hotline and leave feedback and comments about the book as well.
“Since announcing this event to the kids, they were excited about it. It provided a safe and fun way for them to see friends they haven’t seen in awhile. It allowed me as a virtual teacher to see some of my virtual students in person for the first time. It was heartwarming to see them chasing after the soccer balls, laughing, and playing with their friends,” added Cristina Heredia, Bishop Elementary teacher and site coordinator for Friday’s distribution.
“It was really a dream come true to be at Bishop yesterday, meeting some wonderful families, and passing out books and balls alongside some dedicated teachers. We are grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with such inspiring folks and look forward to our continued collaboration with Bishop Elementary,” added Lacy.
Bishop Elementary & AFC Ann Arbor History
AFC Ann Arbor began visiting Bishop Elementary in 2016 when co-owner Matthew Altruda connected club Chair, Bilal Saeed with Cristina Heredia, a teacher from Bishop. The two scheduled the first visit and after Dario Suarez and Tommy Clark spoke to a couple full classrooms, it was clear a special bond had been formed. Each year following, players and staff from AFC Ann Arbor have visited Bishop Elementary signing autographs, passing out posters and other giveaways and spending time and playing with the kids. Because of this strong, ongoing bong between the club and Bishop, it was a no brainer to launch the program here.
The Mighty Oak Project
In 2018, club founder Jamey Amrine, along with co-owners Mike Lorenc and Bilal Saeed set out to form the club’s non-profit arm with a specific aim to increase access to soccer in our community. What began as a youth soccer scholarship program has now evolved into an impactful organization that works on multiple projects with multiple partners including the flagship program, Community Kicks. The board is composed of AFCAA owners, staff and players along with community members who are active club supporters.