CHICAGO, IL (Nov. 6, 2009) – MLS W.O.R.K.S., Major League Soccer’s community outreach initiative, and the U.S. Soccer Foundation, the Major Charitable Arm of Soccer in the United States, announced today that Chicago Fire midfielder Logan Pause and Kansas City Wizards defender Jimmy Conrad were selected to receive the 2009 U.S. Soccer Foundation/MLS W.O.R.K.S. Humanitarian of the Year Award. This marks the first time that two players have shared the honor.
Pause, a seven-year MLS veteran from Hillsborough, N.C., has been active in philanthropic efforts throughout the 2009 season. He has donated his time to charitable organizations including the U.S. Soccer Foundation’s Passback Program, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Garth Brooks Foundation and the Joshua Center in Chicago. His off-the-field work of mentoring local youth and participating in community outreach, grassroots and charity events demonstrates his compassion for others in need.
As a spokesperson for the U.S. Soccer Foundation’s Passback Program, which provides children in urban economically disadvantaged areas with soccer equipment, he has regularly participated in local Passback clinics speaking to kids about wellness and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. As a Chicago Fire representative at the Big Brothers Big Sisters Program Chicago-area luncheon this summer, Pause spoke with children about leadership and mentoring on and off the field.
Pause also volunteered this year with the Joshua Center in Chicago. The center is dedicated to providing support to women in crisis by focusing on emergency and long term needs in order to help them break the cycle of homelessness, addiction and abuse.
His contributions to the Chicagoland community were recognized this season when the Chicago Fire Foundation (CFF) added him to its ranks. In this capacity, Pause helped choose which organizations would benefit from more than $100,000 in grants made by the CFF. Pause also joined his teammates to help raise more than $60,000 at the Foundation’s annual luncheon and another $30,000 from the Frank Klopas annual golf outing.
Conrad, who hails from Temple City, Calif., is an 11-year MLS veteran, five-time MLS All-Star and former MLS Defender of the Year. He continues to be active in philanthropic efforts throughout the Kansas City area and is being recognized as an exemplary role model within the community for his involvement with local schools, youth organizations and MLS W.O.R.K.S. initiatives. Conrad regularly speaks with students at local schools about teamwork and the importance of setting goals in presentations that he designed. For a second consecutive year, Conrad served as a spokesperson for Athletes Against Autism and the Child Protection Center, actively partaking in efforts to raise money and awareness for the organizations. This season he participated in an appearance at the Kick It 3v3 Championships to raise awareness for the UN Foundation’s Nothing But Nets campaign, and also raised funds for the campaign locally through autograph sessions in Kansas City.
