Floorball clubs in Latvia have organised sports activities and donated floorball equipment to orphan children in the framework of the project Sport Unites by the association called Butterfly Effect. For example, the Floorball clubs Kurši and Madona and Kocēni sports club have organised activities and inspired children to practice sports.
On September 22nd, the Liepāja floorball club Kurši visited the orphanage of the Liepāja City Council social service and on September 24th, Kocēni sports club visited the Latvian SOS Children’s Villages Association in Valmiera. On October 16th, floorball club Madona visited Madona children’s and youth out-of-family care and support center Ozoli and the orphanage Grašu bērnu ciemats. All these visits had one aim: to activate and inspire children to do sports.
During the events, the children tried various sports activities and learned more about the sport of floorball. The coaches told about how floorball trainings work, creating interest in children to play sports and challenge themselves in the future.
The youth coach of Kocēni sports school Jānis Dainis said that they have agreed with the SOS Children’s Village that they will organise floorball trainings every week in the future, thank to the Sport unites project:
— Children need to see a positive example set by both peers and adults more often. They need to understand that sport is not only a challenge, but also self-improvement, team spirit and a huge joy of success, Dainis states in Latvian Floorball Union’s press release.
Latvian Floorball Union started the partnership with Butterfly Effect on this project in 2019. This organisation works with 41 orphanages which cover around 800 children throughout Latvia. The objectives for the project Sport unites is the activation of orphan children: create interest in sports, integrate them into society and help them to find new friends, even foster families. The project is organised by the association Taureņa efekts in cooperation with the Latvian Floorball Union, while the main supporters of the project are the ELVI supermarkets and the network of gas stations Virši A.
More visits to childcare centers are planned this autumn within the framework of the project. In total, floorball clubs visit eleven orphanages, organising sports activities and donating floorball equipment sets. Floorball sets consist of sticks, balls, goals and other equipment that will be useful for children to fully enjoy floorball games in the future.
Source and more information: Latvian Floorball Union
