Kick For Nick 10th Anniversary Newsletter - March 2016

Kick For Nick 2006 -2016

Fulfilling Nick's wish & honoring his memory by bringing joy and hope to to underprivileged children around the world through the gift of a simple soccer ball.

"Hey Nick it's been 9 years and your legacy still lives strong. I miss you man, everyday" - posted 9/3/15 by John Cevasco, US Army, Nick's battle buddy and good friend.

2016 is the 10 year anniversary of Nick's passing and of the foundation of Kick For Nick in his memory. We will be sharing a special quote or memory about Nick at the start of each newsletter as well as recalling special memories and the history of the past 10 years.

This issue will cover the early years of 2006 - 2008.

Nick's official boot camp graduation photo.

2006

While home on leave during summer of 2006, Nick talked a lot about the Iraqi children and how they were always smiling despite the chaos of war and a frighteningly unknown future. Through his personal interactions with them he became fascinated by how the children dribbled, passed and shot their make-shift "balls" with remarkable ease; this, when all they had to kick around were tin cans and balls made of rags.

Nick had been a volunteer soccer coach from middle school through his high school years, he saw this as his way to connect. He asked us to send him soccer balls so he could share his passion for the sport with the children, giving them a common ground of friendship and normalcy even for just a little while. A month after he returned to Iraq, Nick was killed by an IED explosion while on a mission in Baqubah, Iraq.

Ken Dartley, of American Legion Post 86 of Wilton, read about Nick's wish in the newspaper and reached out to us about gathering a few balls and sending them to Iraq with Nick's name written on them. From this simple beginning, the Kick For Nick Foundation was born.


The Kick for Nick collection net in front of American Legion Post 86 in Wilton CT


	A young Iraqi boy with his signed PFC Nicholas A Madaras soccer ball.

2007-8


	Original Kick For Nick ESPN Video - 2008

The production staff at ESPN reached out to us about creating a video about Nick and Kick For Nick. This beautiful and moving feature was first shown on ESPN's SportsCenter, January 20th, 2008 and repeated every hour on Monday January 21st, 2008 from 6AM until 1PM. The video has been shown again each Memorial Day weekend since 2008.

ESPN noted that it was the highest rated 'Outside the Lines' segment ever recorded. This video was also the winner of a Finalist Certificate in the Human Interest cateory of the New York International Television Programming & Promotion Awards as well as a winner of the 2009 Edward R. Murrow Award for Sports Reporting.

by the end of December 2008

18,019 soccer balls had been distributed

Our next newsletter will cover the years of 2009 - 2011.

Kick For Nick | www.KickForNick.org

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