Chevrolet India and One World Futbol Project to donate 20,000 footballs to disadvantaged children in India

November 19, 2013: On Chindren’s Day, November 14, Chevrolet India announced the kick-off of the donation and delivery of 20,000 nearly indestructible One World Futbols to marginalised and underprivileged children in India. The unique initiative is aimed at reaching out to the less fortunate children in India, especially those who cannot afford and maintain a football.

“Many of these children are growing up in less privileged circumstances where sometimes a game of football could lighten up their lives by teaching them the true meaning of team spirit and fair play,” said Lowell Paddock, president and MD, GM India.

“The joy that comes from playing football can help lift their spirits and replace despair with hope. Chevrolet’s founding sponsorship of One World Futbol Project is intended to spark a worldwide movement to give children a pathway out of poverty and despair with the benefits that fitness, sport and teamwork can bring – something we call the ‘Power of Play’,” added Paddock.

The initiative kicked off with donation of 91 footballs to Sankalp School in Gurgaon — a school for disadvantaged children run by Gurgaon-based NGO Sankalp Welfare Society. The Chevrolet-branded One World Futbols, delivered to the school in a Chevrolet Enjoy MPV, brought countless smiles to over 900 children who can now enjoy the game of football as much as they want.

With the corporate social responsibility mission of ‘Driving a Better Tomorrow’, Chevrolet India is working with One World Futbol Project to donate a total of at least 20,000 One World Futbols to disadvantaged children across the country. During the next few weeks, Chevrolet India plans to donate additional footballs in the communities where it is located, including Talegaon, Bangalore and Halol. The remaining Chevrolet-sponsored One World Futbols will be delivered through One World Futbol Project’s partner, Slum Soccer, to a number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working with underprivileged youth in India. Slum Soccer is an India-based NGO focused on reaching out to the Indian homeless using football as a tool for social improvement and empowerment.

This initiative is part of Chevrolet’s three-year founding sponsorship of One World Futbol Project that pledges to place 1.5 million One World Futbols with youth living in war-stricken zones, refugee camps, disaster areas, and other underprivileged communities around the world. One World Futbol Project makes, sells and distributes the One World Futbol, a nearly indestructible ball that never needs a pump and never goes flat — even when punctured multiple times.

One World Futbol inventor—Tim Jahnigen—was inspired to create the One World Futbol after watching news footage of kids in Darfur playing a football game using a ball of trash tied up with twine. One World Futbols are designed to outlast and outplay hundreds of regular footballs, sustaining play in any environment or harsh landscape. One World Futbol Project distributes One World Futbols to organizations working with youth in disadvantaged communities, where play can be used to teach life skills and foster social change. To date, more than 500,000 Chevrolet-sponsored One World Futbols have been distributed across five continents, bringing the power of play to over 15 million children.

Photograph: The initiative has kicked off with the donation of 91 One World Futbols to the Gurgaon-based Sankalp NGO