West Ottawa Soccer U14 Girls Heading to Nicaragua - July 4-13

Six local youth and their support team are off to Nicaragua this week to complete a project for SchoolBOX, a Canadian charity whose mission is to make education possible for those who can’t afford it. The team is part of the West Ottawa Soccer Club (WOSC), which is an organization that encourages its athletes to give back to their community. During their ten day stay, they will be helping to build a school as well as engaging the local youth in some soccer games.

Dina Bell-Laroche who is the team coach, a community leader and a veteran of five Olympic games, believes that this kind of experience makes good athletes, great leaders.

The club has been doing its own fundraising by organizing the 5km True Sport 4 SchoolBOX charity run last year through which they managed to raise more than $1700 in pledges. The club was also a part of the Amazing People Gala, which is a local event that highlights extraordinary accomplishments from ordinary people. It was here that they received a $7000 scholarship with over $50,000 raised for the SchoolBOX project.

The six local athletes are Kathleen Carson, Priya Nagpal, Tiffany Ingram, Gabriele Donnelly, Jessica Aiello and Talia Laroche. The support team includes Peter Donnelly, Lynn Aiello, Karri Dawson, John Carson and Dina Bell-Laroche. Eric Collard, co-chair of the Amazing People Gala will also be joining the team on their travels.

Bell-Laroche is passionate about this project and with giving back - "Sport is more than just a game. Sport can teach life lessons off the playing field that can build self esteem, empowering people to set a goal and achieve it, and believe in something that is larger than them. I'm so proud of the accomplishments of these young athletes and the leadership they are demonstrating to support a community thousands of miles away."

For more information you can visit www.schoolbox.ca.