Way back in March, Rich Hitchens, the fellow who is organizing this trip to Rwanda, asked us if we could gather up some used soccer equipment to donate to the children we will be meeting when we visit some schools while we are away. As I mentioned in a previous post, I wrote to four soccer clubs in Scarborough after Rich made his request. I didn’t expect to hear from any of the clubs right away, considering that it was March and soccer does not get underway until May (indoor soccer did not immediately come to mind).
On April 10, I received a reply from Michelle Cole Kennedy, who is on the board of directors of the Scarborough Blizzard Soccer Club. She asked when I needed the uniforms, and said she could give me some sets.
I met up with Michelle Cole Kennedy yesterday evening at 6:30 at the Blizzard’s headquarters (which, in an extraordinary coincidence, is located in the same suite of offices that used to house Sumcot Developments – I did mention this to Michelle). What a wonderful and generous person Michelle is! She took me to the warehouse (in the same suite of offices) and proceeded to fill up a big box with soccer uniforms. I was expecting used equipment, but Michelle gave me new shirts, new shorts and new socks some of them still in the bags they were shipped in. She gave me two different team sets of shirts, enough shorts for two teams, two team sets of sock to match the shirts, brand new shin guards, and six brand new soccer balls. I was completely overwhelmed, and I even became a little weepy. Michelle said it was her dream to go to Africa one day. I had to go to a meeting afterwards, but I could not keep my mind on what I was doing because all I could think of was the Scarborough Blizzard Soccer Club, Michelle Cole Kennedy and her breathtaking kindness and generosity. When I said thank you to her, it felt like it was not a big enough phrase to cover how I really felt.
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