By Kory Moore
With an ambition to inspire girls to participate in sports and physical activity, twelve leaders of the Shelton High School Girls Soccer team creatively organized a community service project that emphasized this mission. Not only did they have a desire to impact the girls in their local community, but they also had an international objective in mind.
The team made a decision to run a week long soccer camp that not only impacted 43 local girls ages 4 to 7, but also children all over the world. They titled the camp “World Cup” and would not only be teaching soccer skills but also educating the girls on several different countries. Instead of having a participation fee, the team decided to further their international impact by accepting donations from parents toward UNICEF, an organization that focuses on the well-being of every child.
“If our team used our talents and time to run the camp and collect money to donate to UNICEF, we not only could affect the young girls that attend our camp but also many more.” Alicia Fernandez, team captian said. “This is what we believe the “GoGirlGo! Ambassador Program is about.”
Creativity was a key ingredient in the creation of this World Cup soccer camp. The high school girls organized all 43 participants into six different teams, representing six different countries: Australia, Brazil, China, France, Italy and Spain. Every day the girls learned a variety of soccer skills including passing, dribbling and shooting while 
also learning different tidbits about their specific countries. The teams learned the history of each country’s participation in the sport of soccer, phrases in the languages unique to each country, and brought a variety of ethic foods to complete the experience. The last day of the camp was used as a celebration of pride by dressing up with their coaches and sporting the colors of their team country. Decorated in war paint and color, the girls were ready to show off their new moves in a final tournament.
The Shelton High School Girls Soccer team considered their project a success- they raised a total of $700 for underprivileged children impacted through UNICEF and gave local girls a new love for the game of soccer. This effort and impact was rewarded by the Women’s Sports Foundation and the Gatorade Company with a 2008 Ambassador Team Award.