Several hundred youngsters in Jamaica will be wearing new soccer jerseys this holiday season thanks to the efforts of a Winnipeg man and his connection to the Airdrie and District Soccer Association.
The community of Runaway Bay, Jamaica, will be receiving four suitcases of new jerseys. Jared Lange, the nephew of local coach Sheldon Lange, will hand them out after his arrival on the Caribbean island on Dec. 8.
“It’s a town about the size of Airdrie and there’s a little school and youth group I work with, ran by some friends of mine in Winnipeg,” Jared said. “I thought it would be a neat thing to bring an item for Christmas for all these kids. It’s a perfect time of year for this and to put a smile on their faces with just a jersey is incredible.”
The idea originated after the two Langes travelled to South America with Samaritans First in 2009 and gave away a few Airdrie jerseys they had packed. Jared then went to Jamaica this spring to begin helping with the local youth group, before returning last month with several hundred backpacks and the last-minute addition of more Airdrie soccer jerseys.
“I planned over the summer, with the help of friends and family, to send four crates of embroidered backpacks (during November’s trip),” Jared said.
“My uncle came to Winnipeg about three days before I left and said ‘Hey, if I’m able to get some more jerseys would that help?’ I said, of course. I took one suitcase down of about 50 pounds that served four teams. I was expecting used and partially-ripped shirts, which still would have been amazing, but most of them were brand new and still had tags on them.”
“He told me he was going down there, and I knew we had these jerseys, so I thought it was a good idea,” Sheldon said. “They are jerseys that aren’t being used anymore, because the association has gone to a different style of jersey, so this is putting them to good use, since a lot of these kids don’t have enough money to pay for this kind of stuff. There is going to be lots of Jamaican kids out there with Airdrie soccer jerseys on.”
Jared said November’s trip had fantastic timing, as the youth group he was visiting was hoping to begin a soccer team, but didn’t have the resources to provide uniforms.
“It was absolutely unbelievable,” he said. “The kids there couldn’t believe it and were just ecstatic.”
His current two-week trip will wrap up in time for him to return for Christmas with his family, but he said he has already began planning the next visit, which would hopefully include an organized tournament with the newly formed teams.
