CHICAGO FIRE FOUNDATION
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2011 ANNUAL REPORT 11
Take the Field Initiative On Saturday, November 5, the Chicago Fire Soccer Club joined Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the Chicago Park District, the Pritzker Traubert Family Foundation, U.S. Soccer Foundation and hundreds of Chicago area children to celebrate the grand opening of the Chicago Fire Soccer Club Field at Pasteur Park. Take the Field initiative joins public and private resources to build ten artificial turf athletic fields over the next three years throughout the City of Chicago. Each field will feature an all-weather surface and lighting that will allow the field to be used nine months out of the year. At least three of the fields will be lined for both soccer and football. Thanks, to its partners, to date, $7.9 million has been dedicated to the program.
URBAN Initiatives The Foundation partners with Urban Initiatives, a non-profit organization that runs a health and education soccer program in the Chicago Public Schools. By actively engaging participants in extracurricular activities at a young age, Urban Initiatives empowers youth to live a healthy lifestyle, value education, and enhance their personal and social development. In 2011, the Chicago Fire Foundation awarded the largest grant in Foundation history with a grant of $100,000 to Urban Initiatives. With these additional funds, Urban Initiatives was able to expand their program to four new schools, reaching an additional 140 students.