Chevrolet Kicks Off Summer with Soccer Donation in Detroit

Big Brothers Big Sisters to direct balls to Police Athletic League and Detroit schools

News provided by

Apr 16, 2013, 09:00 ET

DETROIT, April 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Chevrolet will make a special delivery later this month of 1,350 virtually indestructible One World Futbols, bringing the "power of play" to children in Detroit with the help of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Detroit.

"We're applying our very global partnership with the One World Futbol Project at a very local level," General Motors North America President Mark Reuss said Tuesday. "Thousands of children right here in Detroit will benefit from this donation."

Chevrolet teamed up with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Detroit to donate balls to the Detroit Police Athletic League and 23 Detroit Public Schools. The balls will be distributed beginning April 27 at PAL's summer soccer kick-off event at Historic Fort Wayne.

Chevrolet and the GM Foundation are both committed to supporting the City of Detroit. Over the past three years, the GM Foundation has granted nearly $21.5 million to vital nonprofits and cultural institutions within the city, including United Way for Southeastern Michigan, Focus: HOPE, Karmanos Cancer Institute, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Michigan Science Center.

One World Futbols are designed to outlast and outplay hundreds of regular soccer balls, sustaining play in any environment. The ball never needs a pump and never deflates even when punctured, making it ideal for play in all types of terrain such as concrete, blacktop, dirt, rocky fields or grass, and harsh environments.

"Our mission at One World Futbol Project is to keep the spirit of play alive for youth around the world through the simple power of a durable ball,'" said Lisa Tarver co-founder and chief operating officer at One World Futbol Project. "We are excited to join Chevrolet in making a positive difference for thousands of children around Detroit and witnessing the power of play in action."

The initiative is part of Chevrolet's three-year partnership with One World Futbol Project that pledges to place 1.5 million One World Futbols with youth in war-stricken zones, refugee camps, disaster areas, and other underprivileged communities around the world.

Chevrolet is the founding sponsor of One World Futbol Project, which was established in 2010 and has since touched millions of young lives with the power of play in nearly 160 countries. One World Futbol inventor, Tim Jahnigen, was inspired to create the ball after watching news footage of kids in Darfur playing a soccer game using a ball of trash tied up with twine.

It was then that Jahnigen decided to develop a ball that would play like a real soccer ball but would not be destroyed by the harsh conditions often facing young soccer players in many parts of the world.

Individuals can support One World Futbol Project through the "Buy One, Give One" program. With each purchase of a Chevrolet-branded gold ball, another ball is donated to an organization working in a disadvantaged community around the world. Fans of Chevrolet receive $5 off the $39.50 price (plus shipping) when they use the special discount code "ChevyOWFP."

For more information on Chevrolet and its One World Futbol efforts, visit www.ChevroletFC.com, like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ChevroletFC, follow us on Twitter @ChevroletFC.com (#DrivenBy) or subscribe to our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/user/ChevroletFC.

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world's largest vehicle brands, doing business in more than 140 countries and selling more than 4.5 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature spirited performance, expressive design, and high quality. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

For more than 100 years, Big Brothers Big Sisters has operated under the belief that inherent in every child is the ability to succeed and thrive in life. Donations allow Big Brothers Big Sisters to carefully pair each young person with the right mentor and provide ongoing support and monitoring needed to keep the mentoring match strong so that it can yield the kind of success unique to Big Brothers Big Sisters. The Big Brothers Big Sisters model is proven to improve mentees' odds for succeeding in school and achieving in life. Most children served by Big Brothers Big Sisters are in single-parent and low-income families or households where a parent is incarcerated. As the nation's largest donor and volunteer supported mentoring network, Big Brothers Big Sisters makes meaningful, monitored matches between adult volunteers ("Bigs") and children ("Littles"). And for thirty-nine years of service locally in the metropolitan Detroit community, Big Brothers Big Sisters maintains a stellar reputation of recruiting exemplary citizens to share positive experiences with metropolitan Detroit youth. For more information of how to sign up, call 313-309-0500 or visit our website at www.bbbsdetroit.org.

Launched in July 2010, One World Futbol Project developed and distributes the One World Futbol – the world's first, virtually indestructible soccer ball that never needs a pump and never goes flat, even when punctured. The company works closely with corporations to craft sponsorship programs that enhance sponsor brands and create major benefits for communities around the world. In addition, for every ball sold at retail through its website, the company donates a second ball to a community in need. The company also sells the One World Futbol directly to institutions and organizations and enables individuals, schools, and other groups to generate ball donations through online campaigns. For more information on One World Futbol Project please visit www.oneworldfutbol.com, or follow us on Twitter: @oneworldfutbol and Facebook: OneWorldFutbol.

SOURCE General Motors