Women’s Soccer Hosts Clinic to Benefit Local Food Pantry

The Wesleyan women’s soccer team hosted a free kids’ soccer clinic on Nov. 12 for ages 5-13 to benefit the Amazing Grace Food Pantry in Middletown. The event called Kicking4Hunger encouraged area children to donate a non-perishable food item in exchange for the free clinic. Around 25 kids from the Middletown area attended and were taught the basic skills of soccer — passing, dribbling, shooting — by members of the team.

Senior captain Carly Swenson ’17 spearheaded the second annual event, along with former player Tess Daggett-Edenholm. Swenson and Daggett-Edenholm started a program on campus called Athletes C.A.R.E (Creating Abundant Relief Effort), which is a non-profit effort that started at Lafayette College. Swenson said the goal is to “use athletics to make a lasting impact on the lives of others by providing assistance and support to the needy, hungry and homeless.”

The soccer team was able to donate about 65 pounds of canned goods to the Amazing Grace Food Pantry.

“It was a beautiful day and we had a ton of fun running around with these young soccer players,” Swenson said. “Based on the reviews from the kids and their parents, we plan on organizing other sporting clinics.”