Nicholas Zak Lee has made it his annual mission to Sweat for Good for Soccer Without Borders.
As a student at Oakland Tech High School, in Oakland, CA, Nick Zak-Lee loved playing soccer. One of the schools he played against was nearby Oakland International High School (OIHS), which serves the city’s newly arrived immigrants and refugees, and prepares them for college. OIHS is also the Oakland headquarters for Soccer Without Borders, which was founded to help these same populations, who hail from 38 countries, speaking 27 different languages, communicate through one powerful platform – the game of soccer.
“I liked the community they had created there, and I liked the idea of being able to give back through soccer,” recalls Nick (now a sophomore at UCLA), who started helping coach some of the SWB teams when they held practices at his high school fields. By the summer of his junior year, Nick found himself coaching SWB’s Summer Community Refugee Camp.
Started in 2007, the same year OIHS opened its doors, the annual camp serves 300 recent immigrant and refugee kids with soccer activities, health workshops and motivational speakers. For most kids, the camp is their first experience with SWB, and it happens through a massive volunteer effort. “I worked with the little kids, 8-10 year olds. Lots of them were from Central America, but I also had a lot from Thailand, Burma, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.”, says Nick.
Because SWB is all about refugees and recent immigrants assimilating to their new homes, “Rule #1 is to speak English,” explains Nick. “You do a lot through hand motions, facial expressions and actions. Everyone has a smile on their face, so communicating is not as hard as it seems.” That said, Nick does have some background in Spanish. “I speak some Spanish but not as much as I’d like. My grandmother is Chilean, and she lived at home with us when I was younger.”
When Nick was looking for more ways to give back to SWB, he enlisted the help of Cristy Peterson, the Positive Tracks Coordinator at Soccer Without Borders. She worked closely with Nick to help him put together a fundraising effort around a local 5K run, using her channels to help spread the word on Facebook, and offering him resources like an online fundraising page. Most importantly, Cristy provided a support system through the entire process making sure Nick knew she was there to help. “The biggest road block for kids is managing their efforts for their cause amidst all the school and sports obligations,” says Cristy, who admits that even the best intentions can fade to the background. “Usually, it’s a matter of reaching out with consistent check-ins and communicating. More often than not, they respond.”
Positive Tracks matched Nick’s fundraising efforts bringing the grand total to $1,640 for Soccer Without Borders, but he also raised critical awareness in the process noting, “the more I talked about the cause, the more people wanted to know how they could support it and get involved.” Nick plans to continue to sweat for good by sharing their message of joy and positivity saying, “I would love to come back to the soccer camp in the summer, and I’m looking to get involved in something here at UCLA.”
If you want a quick look at how Soccer Without Borders changes lives, take 10 minutes to watch their 10th anniversary video, and prepare to be moved!