Chattanooga Football Club has announced the creation of the CFC Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to growing the Chattanooga community through soccer. The CFC Foundation will be comprised of three separate nonprofit organizations: Chattanooga Sports Ministries, Highland Park Commons, and Operation Get Active. Each of these nonprofits currently serve the community in their own unique way, but all three have one thing in common: they use soccer as means to strengthen the community.

CFC has been acting as a foundation from the beginning, according to CFC Foundation board chairman Krue Brock.

“The Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga actually allowed us to start CFC there,” Brocks says.

“This is simply a move from there since we have grown to the point where we need to ‘walk on our own two feet.’”

Since its inception in 2009, CFC has aimed to impact Chattanooga with not just roaring crowds, but also by giving back to the community that has so passionately embraced the club.

“The idea for a formal foundation is to take the work to a whole new level to impact many more in the community,” says Daryl Heald, CFC Foundation board member. Heald is encouraged by what he sees as positive growth. “As the club has grown, our philanthropic work and vision has grown with it.”

As Executive Director of Chattanooga Sports Ministries, Hannah Griggs is familiar with CFC’s philanthropic side.

“CSM has had a mutually beneficial relationship with CFC for years,” explains Griggs. “CFC players have worked with us since the team started in 2009.”

CSM provides soccer programming for at-risk youth, creating neighborhood teams and organizing practices and matches for the players. Once players graduate from the program, they are invited back to serve as coaches and mentors to their younger counterparts. Griggs, who started working for CSM in 2010 as a soccer coach for the Woodlawn Apartments in East Chattanooga, says that CSM has remained true to its mission since it was formed ten years ago by New City Fellowship Church. Katelyn Newsome, who also started as a neighborhood coach and is now Program Director for CSM, describes CSM’s mission as “transforming the communities of at-risk youth through athletic engagement, training in life skills, and the formation of intentional, Gospel-centered cross-cultural mentoring relationships.” As soccer players themselves (Griggs played for Bryan College and Newsome played for the CFC Women’s team), they both understand the power of soccer. “Using a soccer ball as a tool to build relationships has been very effective,’ says Griggs, “and if we can help our youth find community through a soccer team instead of a gang, we are doing great job.”

Highland Park Commons is another group among the three CFC Foundation nonprofit entities. Chattanooga has futsal courts in the heart Highland Park, where spirited futsal matches take place regularly. David Vilches, Manager of HPC, got involved as a pickup player himself.

“I was playing futsal everyday in the summer of 2012,” he says. Now, as manager, Vilches is responsible for promotions, reservations, fees, and supervising facility maintenance.

Over 25 nationalities are represented at HPC, and it has become a melting pot for the local soccer scene. According to Vilches, who was born in Argentina, that’s what makes HPC so special.

“For some participants, this has been a small piece of home, reminiscent of the fields they played on in their home countries,” says Vilches. “It has also been a bridge between various cultures within broader Chattanooga.” Making real-life connections is what it’s all about, according to Vilches. “The most rewarding parts of my job are building relationships, getting to hear people’s stories, and connecting people to opportunities and local resources.”

The third and newest nonprofit arm of the CFC Foundation is Operation Get Active, which is a health initiative that uses soccer to encourage youth to,live active and healthy lifestyles.

Peter Woolcock, Director of OGA, says his organization’s approach is multi-faceted. “We will focus on health, nutrition, fitness, leadership, teamwork, all through the game of soccer,” says Woolcock. OGA currently operates in eight locations, including schools, rec centers, and community spaces throughout the city. A typical OGA session begins with a warm-up exercise, followed by a fun game, then a skill-based activity, and culminates in a short soccer match.  Joining forces with CSM and HPC under Chattanooga Football Club leadership makes sense for OGA, according to Woolcock.

“We have seen a huge interest in soccer across the city through the success of CFC. Soccer is the country’s fastest-growing sport and we want to harness that in our community.” Woolcock, who is from Exeter, England, is no stranger to using sport for development. His previous work in development initiatives has taken him to India, the UK, China, and now the USA. In all of those worldwide experiences, Woolcock recognizes a common theme: soccer. “I have seen the power of sport, particularly soccer, in a variety of countries I’ve worked in. I truly believe that soccer is a universal language and I love witnessing how a simple game can engage children in leadership, teamwork, and communication.”

These leaders, like all good leaders, have dreams for the future. Hannah and Katelyn at CSM envision more safe places and better equipment for their at-risk youth; David imagines the day when HPC will host regional futsal tournaments and become the most locally diverse soccer hub in Tennessee; Peter at OGA aspires to reach over 1,000 children by 2016. These dreamers (Hannah, Katelyn, David, and Pete) are leading the CFC Foundation into the future...one at-risk youth at a time, one futsal player at a time, and one healthy youth at a time.

As the CFC Foundation enters this new era, CFC General Manager Sean McDaniel is aware of soccer’s potential power for good in the Chattanooga community and beyond. “We want Chattanooga to be recognized as a global resource for soccer. Programs being developed by the Foundation are designed to serve communities well beyond our city. We want to create a blueprint for other communities and continue paying it forward.”

Brock sums it up like this: “Our focus has always been to use soccer to help develop Chattanooga. This is fundamental to our overall vision.”

To support the CFC Foundation, please visit https://www.classy.org/events/givingtuesday/e59895