The Portland Timbers, along with adidas and the City of Portland presented Hacienda Community Development Corporation with a field grant of $25,000 this morning to help fund a futsal field in the Cully neighborhood of NE Portland.
Hacienda CDC helps to provide affordable housing to low-income families in the northeast Portland area. The community serves 2,000 residents, over half of whom are children.
“Building this field means a lot for the kids in terms of engaging them in something productive, something positive, and something physical,” said Victor Merced, executive director of Hacienda CDC. “It’s part of our philosophy to have a continuum of services for the people of this community.”
Surrounded by the Hacienda community, Merced, Timbers president and owner Merritt Paulson, Timbers COO Mike Golub and Portland City Commissioner Nick Fish wielded gold shovels to break ground for the new futsal field. Attendees celebrated with a soccer-themed cake, autographs with Timber Joey and pickup soccer among the children.
“There’s been an incredible amount of excitement about this field from the start,” said Golub.
“It’s important that the kids have a safe place to play, and the reaction here today has been nothing but positive – it’s great.”
The Timbers and adidas have awarded over $195,000 in grants benefitting field projects and refurbishments like this in the Portland area since 2010.
“We partner with the Timbers on many projects like these,” said Antonio Zea, director of soccer for adidas America.
“We want to give back. We work with every level of the game, from youth to professional soccer. We know that sport and particularly soccer can help with all sorts of things from leadership to teamwork to camaraderie and we want to be a part of that.”
Tomorrow, a second grant of $20,000 from the Portland Timbers and another $20,000 from adidas will be given to the Forest Heights Soccer Club Field Improvement Team to build a micro-turf pitch at Forest Park Elementary School.
A third grant of $10,000 will be given to Friends of Grant Athletics later in the year for a full-size turf soccer field and a small grass field in Grant Park in Northeast Portland.
“Part of who we are is connecting with our community and giving back,” said Golub about this project and its part in the organization's Stand Together community initiative.
“Projects like this are right in the heart of what we do.”
To learn more about Hacienda CDC and support the development of the futsal field, click here or contact Kelsey Cardwell at kcardwell@haciendacdc.org
