from Good Housekeeping, Reprinted in Reader's Digest, Oct 2002

What a Kick!

Helping Soccer Lovers a World Away

By Janna L. Graber

Last January, Tom and Kitty Bruckbauer packed up the kids and headed out for another family vacation to one of their favorite spots – Jamaica. But their suitcases weren’t filled with snorkel gear. Instead, the Ft. Collins, Colorado, family took as many soccer balls as they could carry. “The Jamaican customs officials were surprised to see all the balls we had,” says the couple’s oldest son, Brian, 13. “But they let us through.”

It wasn’t the first time the family had come to the island loaded down with equipment. When Brian and his younger brother, Steven, 8, first went to Jamaica with their parents in 1997, they took along a soccer ball. “We both play soccer,” says Brian, “and I wanted to play soccer on the beach.” The boys soon noticed that the sport was popular with the Jamaicans as well – with one exception.  Many children couldn’t afford to buy a ball. “They kicked around cardboard boxes and bottles instead,” says Steven, a second-grader. “Kids here at home have four or five balls,” Brian adds, “but there, they have to share one ball for a whole neighborhood.”

“The people of Jamaica told us that they’re not rich, but they’re not poor,” says Kitty, 44. “Many just don’t have money for extra things like soccer balls.”

Watching kids play their favorite sport without a real ball didn’t seem right to Brian and Steven.

So after returning home, Brian put out a box at his soccer club asking for donated used balls. He soon collected 23 of them, which the family handed out when they traveled to Jamaica the next year. “The balls were gone in three days,” says Brian, a seventh-grader. “The kids were so excited to get them.” The Bruckbauers were pleased as well. “I’m glad I helped make those kids happy,” says Steven.

Thrilled with their successful venture, the family threw themselves into the project even further. In 1999, Brian wrote a letter to a local soccer publication, while Kitty and Tom, 44, talked with several companies. Soon over 200 balls and pumps had been collected at the family’s upholstery shop, The Recovery, where Tom and Kitty both work.   

The Bruckbauers handed out their collection in January on their latest trip to the island. “We had six suitcases of balls and pumps,” Tom says.

A Jamaican friend, Gary White, introduced the family to local schoolmasters. “We went to four schools and several soccer teams,” says Brian. “We gave ten balls to each school, and some to each team. That way, more kids could use them. One school was studying tourists at the time, and they sang songs for us.”

The project has been so successful that the Bruckbauers plan to go again next January. In addition to balls, they’re collecting cleats, soccer jerseys and other soccer equipment, as well as monetary donations to cover shipping.

Kitty says they never expected their project to grow so big, but they’re happy it has. They’ve received donations from all over the country, and one Colorado team even did a fund-raiser for the project, earning dollars for every goal they kicked.

While the family has given to the Jamaicans, Tom says they have received even more in return. “The Jamaicans are the nicest people,” Tom says. “They’ve taught our boys that you can be happy with whatever you have.”

For more information on Balls for Jamaica, call (970) 226-1443.