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Dutch Twins Kick off Soccer Christmas Project to Help Ukrainian Kids

Twin sisters Rianne and Nanje Schorel have kicked off a unique Christmas project called Shirt Star, to distribute soccer shirts from teams across Holland, to needy children in Ukraine next month, reports Peter Wooding, Europe Bureau Chief for ASSIST News Service.

Over the past few months Nanje and her sister Rianne, a soccer player herself have collected nearly 300 shirts from a number of the teams she has played for in the Netherlands. And they plan to take as many of them as possible to Ukraine in December and personally distribute them to at risk children there, who are supported by the work of Mercy Projects.

The initiative came about many years after Rianne first discovered the work of Mercy Projects in Ukraine through meeting the charity’s California-based founder Jeff Thompson.

“I got involved with Mercy Projects through my time at Biola University in Orange County, California. I was an international foreign student from the Netherlands and I played on the women’s soccer team and Joel, Jeff Thompson’s son, played on the men’s team. So when I met his parents I heard about Mercy Projects. That was about 8 years ago. Then in 2003 I went for 5 weeks to help as a volunteer on their summer camps.”

Eight years later Rianne and her sister decided they could use her soccer background to start a project that was easy to connect with people and could make a difference to the kinds of needy kids she’d met in Ukraine.

“The economy is so bad and people talk about all the bad things. We just wanted to turn it around and think of people that really have nothing and so we thought why don’t we use soccer shirts as a way to do something good.

“So we came up with Shirt Star, where we have baskets that you put your clothes into and we place these at soccer clubs in the Netherlands and ask the kids if they want to donate a soccer shirt that they have in their closet from a professional team that they do not use. Then we could we use those shirts and give them to the kids in Ukraine because they don’t have a lot.”

Rianne explains why they came up with the name Shirt Star for the project:

“If a soccer shirt has a name or number on it, it gives you a special feeling. I know when I was younger it gave me a feeling that I was a star and I want the children in Ukraine to feel like a star. It just makes them feel special. It’s something small but they can take it with them. Some people write a note for the children receiving the shirts, so it’s something personal for them. I just hope that the children realise that they’re not alone and it gives them a memory.”

On December 17 Rianne and Nanje will fly to Kiev in Ukraine and personally distribute these shirts to orphan kids who are part of the Mercy Projects program.

“We are excited to be working with Rianne and Nanje Schorel in the Netherlands to provide football shirts and balls to orphans in Ukraine,” said Mercy Projects Founder Jeff Thompson.

He added: “The kids there are crazy about football and this project will be very special to them. We look forward to visiting several orphanages and delivering everything directly to the kids.

The Schorel sisters received an overwhelming response from children, professional soccer teams and several organisations who donated not only shirts, but soccer balls and training kits as well. However they now need to raise funds to ship these items that they won’t be able to squeeze in their suitcases, so on November 23 they are organising a fundraising auction at FC Utrecht soccer stadium.

To find out how you can contribute to this project email: info@mercyprojects.co.uk

And you can donate online at: www.mercyprojects.co.uk

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TAGS: Holland Rianne and Nanje Schorel Christmas project Shirt Star Ukraine soccer player Mercy Projects

[11/08/2011]

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