STRIKERS PLAYER COLLECTS SOCCER
EQUIPMENT TO SEND TO ETHIOPIA
Matt Oliver
plays for the U-16 Premier team.
Matt has been at the club since
he was in 1st grade and recently
took the lead in a very special
project that created a great
response from the local
community.
To get to know Matt and learn
more about his wonderful
project, I sat down with him and
asked him a few questions.
Why are you collecting all this
soccer equipment?
I collected all of the soccer
equipment for kids in Ethiopia
who could not afford decent
equipment. I had to do a
project in school called the
“personal project”. The project
is supposed to involve something
that you enjoy doing and it is
to be personal to you.
How did you get started in this?
What or who inspired you?
What really inspired me to do
this project was the game of
soccer and the Ethiopian coaches
that I met while they were
spending time in Richmond. One
of the coaches stayed at our
house and it was an amazing
experience. After hearing what
the coaches had said about
conditions and equipment quality
I knew that I was going to help
them.
How did you spread the word
about this?
I started to spread the word by
sending an email out to all
people on the striker’s mailing
list. Then, I spent hours at
Striker Park passing out flyers
to teams and parents at Striker
Park.
What has the response being like
from the local community?
Only one word could describe the
response from the local
community; that word would be
“wow”. Their support has been
amazing and with their help I
collected over 1200 pounds and
over 30 big boxes of equipment.
Where have you been storing all
the stuff?
Currently the equipment is in
the warehouse of my parent’s
office waiting to be shipped.
Who is going to receive all this
soccer equipment?
The kids in Ethiopia that I have
heard about and the coaches that
I have met will be the ones
receiving the equipment.
When are you sending the stuff?
How are you sending it?
I am going to send the equipment
by sea and it will take
approximately 70 days to get
there.
What has been the best thing
about this whole experience?
The best thing about this whole
experience would have to be the
support of the local community.
They really bonded together and
helped to produce an unthinkable
outcome. I also like the
feeling of accomplishment that I
got after I had finished
collecting.
Matt’s project has touched the
lives of many people and it is a
great effort on his part.
Through his love for soccer and
the local community, Matt was
able to be creative and choose a
project that was incredibly
meaningful and helpful. On
behalf of everyone here at the
club, we were glad we could
assist Matt on his project and
provide him with the support to
get it done.
Matt attends Henrico High school
and is in the IB program. In his
spare time, he enjoys playing
golf, spending time with friends
and relaxing at home.
Matt Kirkpatrick
Assistant Director of Coaching
