LA Galaxy Foundation and AEG partner with MLS W.O.R.K.S. to assist Carson youth

In the week leading up to their 4^th Major League Soccer Championship, the LA Galaxy announced that AEG and the LA Galaxy Foundation have partnered with MLS W.O.R.K.S., Major League Soccer’s community outreach program, on a multifaceted improvement project partnership with the Boys and Girls Club of Carson. With some of LA’s key players in attendance, including club captain Landon Donovan, the announcement was made in front of an ecstatic group of young girls and boys eager to play.

The newly found partnership will see the Galaxy support yearlong sports programs facilitated by development staff, donate a multi-use Sport Court and equipment and refurbish the club’s Learning Center. The Learning Center, which was revealed by the team and club last Wednesday, featured new carpets, chairs, tables and bookshelves, as well as new books, a Panasonic TV and an Xbox 360 console donated by Xbox. The refurbish also featured a mural by Code 4.

In addition to the announcement and unveiling of the Learning Center, Galaxy players were also involved with coaching and instructing numerous events and games with the children of the Boys and Girls Club and sat down with the kids to learn a bit about them and just give them a chance to laugh and share stories with some of Major League Soccer’s best players.

The Galaxy, who arguably are the most popular team in Major League Soccer due to their continuous success, proceed to solidify their relevance in American sport culture not just through their constant performance on the pitch, but through their outreach within their community and aim at a lasting relationship with their supporters.

“I think it’s just our responsibility in the community and the soccer is very much secondary,” Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena told MLSsoccer.com. “If we can have an impact on the lives of young kids, we want to be part of that.”

MLS W.O.R.K.S. hosts multiple events throughout the year for multiple different causes and works to make people healthier and happier and benefit those who are less fortunate. This partnership between the LA Galaxy and Boys and Girls Club of Carson is an example of effective community development starting with the minds that need molding. The soccer related improvements to the Club and the yearlong events that will be taking place in the future are not solely to grow the game, but to give kids a positive surrounding and the motivation needed to achieve their academic and lifestyle goals.

“When the league was founded, we wanted to create what we called a “soccer nation” in America,” MLS Commissioner Don Garber told MLSsoccer.com. “In order to do that, you have to have great teams, great players, but to really be a sports league that matters, you have to have programs like MLS W.O.R.K.S.”