The LouCity & Racing Foundation — charitable arm of Soccer Holdings, LLC — welcomed about 800 attendees Tuesday night to its fifth annual “Soccer Ball” aimed at leveraging the beautiful game for good in our community.
The crowd gathered at The Galt House Hotel to fundraise for the foundation while toasting key community partners.
Former LouCity star George Davis IV serves as executive director of the LouCity & Racing Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit launched in 2022. Since then, the foundation has raised millions of dollars and created numerous community partnerships toward bringing organized soccer — and all the associated benefits — to area youth.
“We have a mission to break down barriers, and we mean that,” Davis IV said. “We want to make a large impact on this community. We want to be one of the top, first-class foundations for a sports organization in the country. I think we have the platform to do that.
“This is not about one year or five years. This is actually about longevity and sustainability.”
At Tuesday’s Soccer Ball, The Humana Foundation was recognized with the Wayne Estopinal Community Partner Award, named after Louisville City’s late founder. Three futsal courts decorated by local artists recently opened across Louisville at Clifton Park, E. Leland Taylor Park and Wyandotte Park thanks to help from The Humana Foundation.
Hunter Pittman — Jacob Elementary’s family resource coordinator — is a trilingual contributor to the LouCity & Racing Foundation’s efforts, also serving as West Louisville Soccer’s director of coaching. He was bestowed with the Community Champion Award.
“As adults,” Pittman told Soccer Ball attendees, “we have this opportunity to give all of ourselves that we have so kids don’t need a superhuman effort, or to give more than everybody else, just to have the same opportunities as somebody who lives in a different ZIP code.”
Hundreds of Soccer Ball attendees joined in the Soccer Ball’s Mission Moment, a late-event push to fundraise toward the foundation’s vision to improve the lives of youth across our region through the uniting power of soccer.
For more information on the LouCity & Racing Foundation, or to make a donation, visit LouCityRacingFoundation.org.
