Local Youth Soccer Team Donates Soccer Balls To Afghan Refugees

OCEAN TOWNSHIP, NJ – The goal of sports is to bring people together, build skills and friendships, and for one Ocean Township girls travel soccer team, to bring comfort and compassion to Afghan refugees who have found a new home in New Jersey.

After a parent from the Ocean United Soccer Association's Surge soccer team saw the urgent plea from the Red Cross asking for donations, including a specific request for soccer balls for the refugees currently residing at Joint Base McGuire, Dix Lakehurst, the text messages started and the team’s parents mobilized fast.

After a quick trip to a local store, the girls had two dozen soccer balls ready for donation, some of which were purchased with allowance money donated by members of the team.

One of the parents, Megan Khichi of Ocean, says her daughter donating a soccer ball is a simple gesture of kindness, reinforcing to these young teammates that helping others is universal, no matter what team you’re on, what language you speak, or your country of origin.

“Our girls hope the soccer balls give 24 young refugees in an uncertain situation a reason to smile. It’s a tangible way for these third and fourth graders to make a difference and help cheer up kids in need,” Khichi said in a statement.

The balls have been donated to Dogtopia in Tinton Falls, one of the drop-off locations for the Joint Base/Afghan refugees organized by the NJ Veterans Chamber of Commerce through the Red Cross.

The Ocean United Surge is a team of eight and nine-year-old girls from Ocean Township, Interlaken, and Rumson.