World middleweight boxing champion Laila Ali has more going for her than stellar athletic ability. As the youngest daughter of world-renowned boxing champ Muhammad Ali, she has some pretty big shoes to fill. But she proved her boxing worth right from the get-go when she knocked out her very first opponent without a hitch.

That was back in 99. Since then, Laila has kept rocking the ring and using her time in the spotlight to advocate for positive social change. Ali currently serves on the board of trustees for the Women’s Sports Foundation, a nonprofit that seeks to “advance the lives of girls and women through sport and physical activity.” She works for better health and fitness through her partnerships with the American Diabetes Alliance and the Nation’s Food Bank Network, which helps to alleviate hunger for low-income children in the United States. She has participated in fundraisers for ONE: The Campaign to Make Poverty History. She is an outspoken advocate of women and girls in sports, and also addresses the specific challenges faced by women of color and low-income women in sports. Rock on, Laila.

Watch this short video segment where Laila talks about how media representations affect young people, women, and people of color.

Soccer is the most widely played and watched team sport on the globe. It’s fun, social, competitive, sweaty, and an all-around awesome sport. There are a lot of programs available that make playing soccer easy for underserved youth who don’t always have the money or access to play organized team sports. Here are a handful of very cool youth soccer programs here in the US:

CityKicks is an after-school soccer program that serves low-income and minority middle school girls in Boston. On their website, CityKicks notes that suburban kids get to play more organized sports than inner-city kids, and that on average boys play more sports than girls. This program addresses issues of race, class, and gender, empowering underserved girls through soccer, as well as creating community and a sense of belonging within the team.

Milwaukee Wave offers soccer programs for low-income youth in the Milwaukee area, offering scholarships and tickets on a sliding scale based upon family income. They make every effort to ensure that all children can play soccer, irrespective of financial means.

Soccer in the Streets builds the lives of at-risk youth through soccer in 27 different locations across the United States. In addition to organizing youth soccer camps and programs, Soccer in the Streets constructs “Street-boxes,” which are self-contained soccer fields (about the size of two tennis courts) placed in select locations for community use.

Project Goal offers after-school tutoring and soccer programs to disadvantaged youth in Rhode Island. Soccer Community Partnerships of America offers a similar program in Williamsburg, Virginia, and United Soccer Club offers an after-school soccer program for underserved kids in Washington D.C.



Many of these programs are looking for volunteers to coach, referee, tutor, help out at games, etc. If you have some time to contribute and live near a program site, please get in touch with the coordinators through the website links above.