CARSON, Calif. – The LA Galaxy may be just days away from attempting to defend their MLS Cup title against the Houston Dynamo, but on Wednesday, they took a moment to reach out to the community.
Galaxy players Omar Gonzalez, Sean Franklin, A.J. DeLaGarza, Todd Dunivant, Mike Magee, Edson Buddle and captain Landon Donovan visited the Boys and Girls Club of Carson to unveil a new upgraded Learning Center that was completely refurbished as well as plans for a new Sport Court which will be installed next month. The event was part of a partnership between AEG, the LA Galaxy Foundation and MLS W.O.R.K.S., Major League Soccer’s community outreach initiative.
Also on hand were a number of dignitaries including AEG President and CEO Tim Leiweke, MLS Commissioner Don Garber, Galaxy head coach and general manager Bruce Arena and LA vice president Chris Klein as well as local officials from the city of Carson and the Boys and Girls club. With The Home Depot Center just down the road, the event was vital for the Galaxy’s community outreach.
“These events are vital not only to what we do as an organization, but as a league and a sport,” Klein told LA Galaxy Insider on Tuesday. “As a former player, one of the coolest things that we have is our players and their willingness to be involved in our community. For us to be able to come in here and impact our local community where we play is something that is pretty special for us.”
The children at the Boys and Girls club received a litany of items including new school supplies, arts and crafts material, sports equipment and electronics. The Boys and Girls Club will also be able to receive special training programs for both soccer and hockey from the Galaxy and Los Angeles Kings in the next year.
But the children weren’t the only ones excited as the Galaxy players also found a little solace in the ability to give back to the community just days away from MLS Cup.
“We’ve been at each other for the last ten days so it’s nice to get away and kind of chill out,” said Galaxy captain Landon Donovan. “It takes away the pressure from what is going on, on the field because everyone is laughing, everyone is happy and you kind of forget about soccer for a moment which is nice.”
Adam Serrano is the LA Galaxy Insider. Read his blog at LAGalaxy.com/Insider and contact him on LAGalaxyInsider@Gmail.com
