Now that we’re done celebrating a hockey victory here in Chicago, it’s time for World Cup fever. I’ve never been a huge fan of soccer—probably because it’s not the most suitable sport for someone who was both chubby and asthmatic growing up—but even I can get into the World Cup. If there’s any sport that bridges all cultures, it has to be soccer. And that means that it’s particularly well suited to international non-profit work. That explains Grassroot Soccer, a Norwich, VT based non-profit that was started by former professional soccer players to help fight HIV in Africa. They do this by training “African soccer stars, coaches, teachers, and peer educators in the world’s most HIV-affected countries to deliver an interactive HIV prevention and life skills curriculum to youth.” They’re especially focused on using the excitement surrounding the 2010 World Cup to increase engagement with their programs.

Kick HIV’s Butt

I actually spent some time on the phone with Grassroot Soccer’s Founder Tommy Clark last year, and learned about how the organization has grown since it started as an idea. Since you probably can’t do that, you should check out this wonderful video that Grassroot Soccer has put together.

Grassroot Soccer has been so successful because they’ve connected two seemingly unrelated things. By taking the excitement around soccer in Africa to bring attention to the plight caused by HIV, they’ve built an organization that is extremely capable of achieving their mission of education and development. If Grassroot Soccer sounds like something that you want to be involved with, then check out their Join the Team page. They don’t actually mention jobs there, but there have to be some opportunities available in an organization of 60+ employees and 300+ volunteers. You’ll just have to use their contact information to inquire about more.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

• GrassrootSoccer.org
• Jobs at Grassroot Soccer
• About Grassroot Soccer
• Grassroot Soccer’s Blog
• What Grassroot Soccer Does
• Grassroot Soccer’s Results

What do you know about Grassroot Soccer?

We've identified Grassroot Soccer as having career opportunities in the following categories:

• advocacy
• all employers
• education
• international
• non-profit
• outreach
• sports
• Vermont

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