2024 DGK Community Outreach

2024 COMMUNITY OUTREACH CHALLENGE

In addition to the camp homework I assign students every year, I also challenge my students to become involved in their community to raise their awareness of the global community around them. It is far too easy to get swept up into our busy lives, the daily grind, and our own microscopic circle of influence. I am certainly a culprit of that. Hence the Dynasty Goalkeeping Community Outreach Challenge was developed to get ALL of us to broaden our circles of influence!

Initially the program began with students donating gear for children in need around the world and has grown from there. Thus far Dynasty has been involved with the following organizations Carolina For Kibera, Coaches Across Continents, They Often Cry Outreach (TOCO), Equipment Across Continents (a branch of Coaches Across Continents), and Sports United a sport diplomacy program organized through the U.S. State Department to encourage cultural exchange and female empowerment.

In 2010 the Dynasty Goalkeeping Community Outreach Challenge took our generosity one step further. I challenged students to ACT BEYOND THEMSELVES and get involved with a project that meant something to them and to ‘donate’ some of their TIME to help others. The feedback I received from the students and parents was tremendous, so giving back to your community has become a core value of the Dynasty family of goalkeepers.

It is in acting that we have our most profound effect, because there simply is nothing more valuable than your time. So, to set aside some of your precious time to help another human being (animal or the planet) speaks volumes. The recipient will certainly be tremendously grateful for any help you can give, but the effect it will have on your own life will be where the most value lies. The gratitude and love you receive back from the people you help is addicting and powerful. Try it and you will see what I mean.

Here is the list of the volunteer work that Dynasty staff and students (listed by the camp week they attended) reported in 2024! This is GREAT STUFF! I am proud of all of you — you guys inspire me to do more!!!

If you were a 2024 student/staff that did volunteer this year and your name isn’t on this list, it is because you didn’t email me! I can’t report on something I don’t know! Please email me so I can update!

STAFF

TRACY NOONAN – Spring & Fall 2024 – Chapel Hill, NC

Due to injuries and multiple surgeries for the second year in a row 🙁 , I could only volunteer a handful of times with the girl’s (spring) and boy’s (fall) squads (varsity and JV) at Chapel Hill High School. I have run training sessions for the goalkeepers with both team for years and always enjoy my time on the field connecting with the coaching staff and meeting the new young players coming up through the program. The positive environment and culture the staff and players create between both the girl’s and boy’s squads are unique and special.

In addition to working with the high school goalkeepers I have also continued volunteering with Coaches Across Continents (CAC) as a facilitator of the US Based Step-Up Athletes. I first volunteered on field in Tanzania with CAC back in 2010 and this past year helped coordinate three former Dynasty students and staff coaches, Marzia Josephson, Brenna Murray & Kaylin Williams Mosier with their work for the organization and volunteer trip to Arusha, Tanzania. (read more about their adventure below!)

As described on their website:

“Founded in 2008, Coaches Across Continents (CAC) is a global alliance of active citizens, communities, corporations, foundations, and philanthropists on six continents that use our unique Purposeful Play and Education Outside the Classroom programs to impact the UN Sustainable Development Goals. We have impacted over 49 million young people in 133 countries.

In 2023, we focused our resources to realign more CAC leadership to be situated within the countries where we work. Our CAC 2030 strategy is to increase the influence of the Southern Hemisphere and build more locally owned sustainability.”

MARZIA JOSEPHSON, BRENNA MURRAY & KAYLIN WILLIAMS – 2024 – Arusha, Tanzania

Marzia, Brenna and Kaylin are all long-time students and staff coaches of Dynasty Goalkeeping with a history of serving others within their community and beyond. Having witnessed them grow up through Dynasty and develop into strong female leaders with a desire to help others I knew they would be eager to partner with Coaches Across Continents, an organization I have close ties with. I reached out to them in the spring of 2023 with a unique opportunity to became involved with Coaches Across Continents working as “Step Up” athletes. Essentially it was a service-based internship where they could tailor their own involvement within CAC to learn more about Purposeful Play, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and the challenges of running an NGO (non-governmental organization) while also stepping into greater leadership roles. Brenna was able to start her work online in May, along with Marzia, while Kaylin joined the crew of “Step Up” athletes in September. Initially Brenna worked on International Day of Play initiatives with co-worker Saraswati Negi from India over the summer of 2023 while Marz worked on researching grants for partner organizations. Then in January of 2024 Marz & Brenna transitioned into developing games focused on mental health awareness to expand CAC’s purposeful play curriculum along with senior staff member Lou Crawford. Meanwhile Kaylin picked up where Marz left off researching grants for CAC partner programs and translating curriculum. After gaining valuable experience with CAC through lots of zoom calls with CAC staff and partner organizations, Brenna and Kaylin had the opportunity to volunteer in the field and experience CAC’s mission firsthand at the Girls Foundation of Tanzania in Arusha alongside local CAC coach Estahappy.  

A brief excerpt from Brenna’s blog post detailing her story of impact sums it up best:

“I believe the gravity of my on-field experience with CAC was felt long before I left the States, as I excitedly and nervously planned with Lou, Kaylin, and Estahappy for months. However, the impact my two weeks in Tanzania had on me was greater than I ever expected. The Girls Foundation of Tanzania welcomed us with open arms and generously opened their home and their lives to us. The more I reflect on this experience, the more deeply grateful I am for their generosity, and I hope I was able to leave a small piece of the impact they left on me.

Two weeks in Tanzania simultaneously felt like a lifetime and flew by in an instant. The knowledge I gained – socially, culturally and globally has forever changed the way I view the world. The gratitude and pride in their culture the people of Tanzania possess is admirable and enlightening. The chance to live what at times felt like another life on the other side of the world leaves you a different person entirely.” CLICK TO READ FULL STORY

Having had a similar life-changing experience myself in 2010 with Coaches Across Continents in Tanzania I can relate to every word of Brenna’s blog. I am so glad that Brenna and Kaylin (unfortunately Marz was unable to join them as she was recovering from surgery) were eager to get the full CAC experience in the field. While they came back to the United States with a new global perspective, the impact they left on the young Tanzania girls of what it looks like to be a strong, healthy, happy female leader is immeasurable. Thank you Marz, Brenna, and Kaylin for your service and leadership!!! Endlessly proud of the women you are becoming!!!

STUDENTS

WEEK 1

CAROLINA SIMPKINS – Fall 2024 – Fayetteville, NC

“I committed 10.5 hours of volunteer work this past year working with Buddy Basketball through Cumberland County Parks & Rec. I was partnered up with a special needs individual and hung out with them, assisting them in basketball in any way I could.  I felt like the experience of Buddy Basketball shows how, no matter what, anyone could truly do anything. Everyone is capable, just not always in the same ways.”

What great perspective!

EMMA WAKEMAN – Fall 2024 – Charlotte, NC

Emma had a total of 31 service hours this year through various organizations around Charlotte!

“As a part of Charlotte Women’s Soccer, we are required to earn at least 10 hours of community service. This year, I was in the top three out of my teammates for community service hours earned. I served with my team at different locations and organizations, including Charlotte FC, UNC Charlotte x TED Talk, Cabarrus Humane Society, and other service opportunities on UNC Charlotte’s campus. As team captain, I was also tasked with organizing and facilitating service opportunities. Our team’s collective efforts led us to win the Gold Cup, which means we had the highest amount of community service hours in comparison to all of the other sports at Charlotte.”

Emma, congratulations on your team winning Gold Cup for the most service hours of any athletic team on campus.  Way to set the bar high for your teammates and motivate more people to give back! 

WEEK 2

RHYS KOPECKY – Spring 2024 – Atlanta, GA

“The organization I volunteer with most frequently is PAWkids. PAWkids is an afterschool enrichment program for children who would otherwise return to empty houses. The program provides learning support, behavior health support, family support, and has a pantry that provides the children with food so they will have food to eat on weekends, and over holidays. I have served around 70 hours with the program so far, and my work varies anywhere from tutoring, to mentoring, to assisting with holiday and end of year celebrations. Alongside working directly with the children, I have also helped with the stocking the pantry and organizing bags for the PAWkids families. I’ve included a picture from our Halloween party in the fall.”

Way to make a serious impact in your community Rhys! Your consistency and ongoing mentorship of young children will have a lasting impact in their lives. Keep up the great work!

GIANNA REID – Spring 2024 – Batavia, IL

“The name of the organization I am apart of is called Best Buddies. I am the head secretary of the organization. Best Buddies is a group that helps special needs individuals feel more involved and also help them in and out of school situations.

I am a part of this group on a year-round basis but mainly active during school. We have four meetings per month with additional hours that we put in outside of school. I typically do three different activities a month helping our community. ”

Gianna, what a great organization to make everyone feel valued and part of community.  Well done!

LILY SELVY – Spring 2024 – Saint Louis, MO

“I am a club representative of the Girl’s Academy advisory panel. The panel helps give the Girl’sAcademy league feedback and support community service projects involvement. As part of this initiative three teams in my club (and I) created a community service project in support of Saint Louis Children’s Hospital. This entailed buying items from a list of items like stickers, books & card games for the children and then delivering to the hospital to boost spirits.

In addition, a couple of my teammates and I volunteered with SPENSA (Special Needs Soccer Association of Saint Louis) at the end of March playing soccer with people with disabilities. I attached a picture of us from that service.”

Lily, great job becoming a leading by example with your service work and advocating for more involvement from the club!

DEVIN TRACY – 2022+2023 – Wentzville, MO

“Throughout this school year I volunteered at Marcy’s Project once every month for about 3 hours at a time for a total of about 30 hours of volunteer time as of June. I will continue to volunteer through the summer and next school year! My volunteering roles included laundry, sizing/organizing clothing, cleaning toys, books, etc, and making birthday baskets. Marcy’s Project is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping less fortunate families get the clothes, toys, and even meals that they need for their families, and all for free!

The week leading up to Thanksgiving I also volunteered for about 5 hours with No Hunger Holiday. They’re an organization dedicated to ensuring everyone and anyone gets the supplies and food they need to have a nice Thanksgiving. I helped fill boxes with Thanksgiving food (potatoes, turkey, green beans, etc) and helped load them into trucks to be delivered to various distributors. This experience really made me realize how fortunate I am to have a Thanksgiving to look forward to every year, and I will 100% be volunteering again this year!!

For Christmas a few of my classmates and I were bell ringers for the Salvation Army! We were there for about 4 hours just greeting customers, wishing them happy holidays, and ringing our bells with big smiles! I believe our class raised about $729!

Finally in April my class did yard work at Emmaus Homes, which is an organization that allows for people with disabilities to live on their own (with a few other roommates, and a caregiver/nurse). In the 4 hours we were there my class cleared out a big tree, cleaned up leaves, sticks, etc.

I love volunteering and will continue to serve no matter what!”

Devin, I love your passion for community service! Your involvement through the year across multiple organizations is an inspiration for us all to do more!

WEEK 3

SHEA BEST – Summer 2024 – Gibsonia, PA

“I volunteer for an organization called Quickskills Soccer, which is run by a family friend of mine. He has built his business in the area of Pittsburgh, and it has really grown since the days I participated. He organizes day camps in the summer, either 4 or 5 days a week, for kids 4-13 years old, and it’s run by high school, college, and even club team coaches around Pittsburgh. I love helping out with the program, since I was once a camper and enjoyed it so much! I went to multiple camps each summer for many years.

I also do volunteer work for my high school. Our coaches and captains work together to set up day camps during the summer for the younger kids in the district. I always enjoy seeing the kids train and have fun like I did years ago. I try to keep the players engaged in the sport so they can learn the aspects of the game and hopefully stick with in the future.”

Shea, way to spread your passion for the game throughout the community!!!

MOLLY BURKE – Fall 2024+ – Ann Arbor, MI

“This month, I started a volunteer in-store job at Ten Thousand Villages. The store’s mission is to promote fair trade between the store and the artisans from all over the world. The products sold in the store are all handmade and come from people (60% are women) living in poverty in countries all over the world. Since the artisans live in very underprivileged communities, they often cannot get a very fair price for the high-quality products they are selling. They do a lot of work to make very little while living in harsh conditions. Through the fair-trade program, they can send products to places where people can pay more for them and get a better price for their products. This has helped improve living conditions for many which helps families build homes, keep food on the table, send children to school, and develop communities to help even more living around them. The majority of money from sales at Ten Thousand Villages goes back to the artisans, which means there isn’t much money left to pay workers, so the bulk of the workers are volunteers. This “job” requires 8 hours per month, and this month I have completed 10. My main role is to work the store floor and ring up customers, answering any questions as well as help with tasks around the store. I plan to continue doing this for the rest of high school and look forward to learning more about the artisans and products!”

Molly, very cool volunteer “job” that contributes to the mission of Ten Thousand Villages! I had no idea that’s how they operated!

CLAIRE ZWARYCZEK – August 2024 +– Chapel Hill, NC

“I volunteer for PORCH, an organization that helps bring food to families in need from neighborhood porches. I serve as the neighborhood coordinator, so I organize and collect donations from 2 neighborhoods, and I help to gain new donators from around the neighborhood. I started in August and thus far have logged 14 volunteer hours. I have learned a lot of about leadership and taking responsibility as well as the importance of helping others. I attached a photo of me writing letter to try to gain involvement in my community.”

Way to make an impact in our community Claire! You’ve inspired me to get involved with PORCH this year!

WEEK 4

HARRIET LYNCH – Spring 2024 – Avon, CT

“I co-captained a team of nine friends that raised $4,844 for cancer research through Relay For Life. I volunteer for Relay because a family member and a close family friend were diagnosed with cancer in recent years. I want to raise money and awareness so the American Cancer Society can help support patients and caregivers, fund research that can help find a cure, and advocate for cancer patients and laws that will discourage children from buying cigarettes and nicotine products. I was really scared when my family member was diagnosed, and I think about how scared she must have been. I want to support the ACS through Relay For Life to help future cancer patients and their families feel supported and less scared.

Our team raised money with a bake sale, collecting cans at a local soccer tournament, holding an after-school “play day” where we babysat and played with younger children at our local elementary school, and through a fundraiser at a local restaurant. I also raised funds individually seeking donations from family and friends.”

Hattie, way to find a meaningful way to channel the stressful experience with cancer in your family in a positive direction by helping others! Your involvement made an impact and every dollar counts!

WEEK 5

GREENLEY DUPLANTIS – May 2024 – Baton Rouge, LA

“This year I volunteered for GaitWay Therapeutic Horsemanship. Gaitway is an organization that provides therapeutic horse riding to a range of people. I volunteered for 5 hours at Derby Day, their annual fundraiser in May. I helped set up the event, facilitate games, and spread information to benefactors about GaitWay.  I also volunteered at GaitWay itself for 2 hours. I interacted with the kids and helped clean the horse stables.”

What a great organization to support Greenley! 

SLOANE HUNTER – 2024 – Chapel Hill/Carrboro, NC

“I have been volunteering at Hillspring Church’s food bank roughly one to two times monthly. I primarily fill bags for families in need but also organize donations and drive to deliver food. This opportunity has really helped me learn as a person and player how fortunate I am. I plan to stay involved!”

Sloane, I love your consistency, finding time every month to help families in need throughout the year!

KYRA PETTIBONE – 2024 – Raleigh, NC

“I volunteered 20 hours in July for the Cap City Girls Basketball Camps. I helped coach young girls (K-7th grade) as new and improving basketball players to get them excited about the culture of women’s sports and specifically basketball. This was done through my high school basketball team as we are trying to develop and bring up a new “winning” culture for our school after getting a new coach this past year. I included a picture from the first day of camp. (I am in the back right next to my coach)”

Kyra, I love that you are a multi-sport athlete sharing your passion for sports and the benefits with young girls in the community! The need to see and connect with positive role models like you!