The vision for bringing the Kastles to Washington, DC is led by Mark Ein, a businessman and philanthropist, and also Executive Producer of KICKINGIT. Mr. Ein's commitment and generosity to local efforts, such as the Homeless USA Cup, is greatly appreciated and we thrilled to partner with him and the Kastles.
To learn more about the Washington Kastles visit: www.washingtonkastles.com and to purchase tickets call: (202) 4TENNIS
Among his many experiences and talents, Kevin is an author, and agent for social change. He travels the world, and helps people harness the power of sport and play as a vehicle for chasing and achieving their dreams. As an author, Kevin has achieved incredible success with his first book, Rules of The Red Rubber Ball (ESPN Books). Discover Your Inspiration and Chase it for a Lifetime (ESPN Books) will be released in 2008.
We want to thank Kevin for his friendship and for inspiring all of us to realize that a ball IS changing lives. Check out his musings at: katalystatlarge.com during the Homeless USA Cup and also, his prose at ESPN’s Page 2: http://sportsnation.espn.go.com/fans/Katalyst4Sport
Our friends over at Trinity Episcopal came down to the Urban Ministry Center on Tuesday to help us sharpen up the Art Park. The winter took its toll on the park leaving debris blown up into the corners of the tire wall and dust and dirt covering the playing field. With brooms and dustpans and plastic gloves for picking up trash the students attacked the field with determination and energy. 
The first class focused on sweeping and picking up trash while the second class scrubbed the benches that surround the park, cleaned behind the dasher boards and picked up trash along side the player benches. Some students, particularly the young gentleman in the first picture, were on a mission to get down and dirty while others who still made a big contribution were more in amazement saying "ohh gross, a cigarette!" as they kneeled down to pick up a butt that was resting in the goal mouth. Neigbors of the center and street soccer players jumped in to help and folks who were using the lockers were thankful for having the area cleaned up. 
The park will be back in full swing in April so please visit the website to find out about the next open mic or soccer scrimmage. The art park continues to bring communities together and be a place of sharing and group effort. The park was erected with the help of UNCC college students and yesterday was maintained with the help of elementary school students all the while neighbors of the Urban Ministry Center tend to its needs year around. Whether it is students working with the community at the center to build or to clean, or it’s the street soccer team working together to prepare for the Homeless World Cup or an open mic night, the art park is a symbol of community collaboration and space. A big thanks to the Trinity students and teachers and of course to our dedicated soccer team members and Homeless Helping Homeless cleanup crew for volunteering your time to make our park clean again.
It's been several weeks now that Craig has been living in his new apartment, but just this past week he was able to fall back and enjoy the feeling of landing in his own bed. Until late last week Craig had just been sleeping on the floor in his new place but after a few clicks on the computer and a short drive across town Craig now has a proper place to rest. I had made a few calls to some churches to see if there were any donated mattresses or beds laying around but had not had any luck when the obvious hit me. The answer was in the name. Lets try Craigslist to find a bed for Craig! A few hours later we were in the van picking up a box spring and mattress for $20 from a lady whose roommate had just moved out. You can see Craig pictured here touching his new bed and then below taking a dive on his back making sure everything was sturdy. Craig is adjusting well to having his own place and says that he always pays his rent early and makes sure to try to get groceries when he can afford them to keep his roommate (the apartment owner) happy. 
He hasn't however mastered the art of cooking just yet. Early last week he was at the Urban Ministry Center working on his GED lessons when he popped in my office and said "oh crap Rob, I think I left the oven on in the house." We drove over to the apartment and went inside and all was OK, the place just smelt of burnt chicken for a few days. Everything else has been great though, like moments after our league game on Wednesday when I was taking players to the winter shelter and to the transit center after the game. Craig spouted out with a big grin, "oh man, I was worried for a second, I didn't know where I was going to crash tonight and then I remembered, oh yea, I can just go home." Craig's laughter and frequent phone calls to let us know that he is just at the house hanging out are a joy to witness and now that the basics of having a bed to rest in are done Craig is continuing on his next mission- conquering the GED. Thanks for reading.
