It All Starts with a Ball

Last Friday in Seattle, the U.S. men’s national team beat Australia 2-0, and the country hasn’t stopped talking about it. The win sent them through to the next round sooner than they ever have before. Hours before kickoff, downtown was a sea of red, white, and blue. Watch parties packed the bars, Pioneer Square, Pacific Place, Pier 62 and the adjacent barge on Elliott Bay. Seattle showed up like the soccer city it has always been, and the team played like it belonged. With the group already wrapped up, the finale against Turkey carries no stakes. But win in the round of 32, and the U.S. could be back here for one that matters even more.

Every player on that field started the same way. A ball, and a little space to kick it around.

A love affair between a soccer ball and a kid is where talent is born. It’s developed on a field, with a team. But in this country, that beginning has been out of reach for too many. The fields are too few. The costs are too high.

Our partner RAVE Foundation is working to change that. They build free public mini-pitches in underserved communities across Washington, and the ones already built rarely sit empty.

Cristian Roldan fell for the game in his family’s backyard, playing with his brothers. Soccer became his way into a larger community. Now he wears the national jersey, and he’s our partner in helping give the next kid the same start.

That start is what we’re funding. Every Roldan pizza and slice we sell through July 19 sends a dollar to RAVE, on the way to 500 soccer balls.

You can send one more yourself. Add a “Donate a Soccer Ball” item to any online order. It’s $20, it goes straight to RAVE, and it puts a ball at the feet of a kid who would otherwise go without.

Every ball brings one more kid into the game. Join Pagliacci and RAVE in fueling the dream.

Donate a Soccer Ball