Welcome

I’m Zach Guttman and thank you for your interest in my Kids Helping Kids Sports Project to benefit the kids at Netzach Israel Middle School in Kiryat Malachi, Israel. Most of my friends there are new immigrants whose families were forced to leave their homes in Ethiopia, Africa, because of persecution and hardship.

The goal of my project is to raise enough money to purchase all of the sports equipment that Netzach Israel Middle School needs for its day and after-school programs. Please visit our KHK Sports Equipment Gift Registry , join my friends and buy the sports equipment that Netzach Israel Middle School requested. Your purchase will be delivered directly to the school. Give the gift of sports! 100% of your purchase is tax-deductible.

$5,116.70 of sports equipment has been purchased from the KHK Sports Equipment Gift Registry as of June 3, 2008!!

On June 1, 2008 over 125 middle school athletes from all over Maryland joined me and my friends at our Kids Helping Kids Soccer Tournament to benefit my friends in Israel. Watch the WBAL-TV story on my project!

June 1st was a wonderful day of competitive soccer, soccer clinics, and fun. DJ Empire set the mood with great music, Sagu from The Baltimore Blast led soccer-skills drills, and trainers from Performance Edge Sports Training Center tested our skills for prizes. But, best of all, we raised lots of money to purchase sports equipment for my friends at Netzach Israel Middle School from our Sports Equipment Gift Registry!

It is very difficult for parents to support their families when they come to a new country with little money and without the skills to get good jobs. Many immigrant and needy families rely on Meir Panim, a private, charitable organization that provides free meals, clothing, furniture, and job training throughout Israel. Meir Panim supports the Netzach Israel Middle School and provides free meals for the students and offers job training and support to their parents. I learned that for many of these kids, the only hot meal they eat all day is the meal that Meir Panim provides for them at school.

I met Ms. Ayalah Hagage, the principal. Ms. Hagage told me about all of the academic programs at the school and that her students do very well. I know that academic subjects are important, but so is soccer. Soccer teaches you about teamwork and respect, and it’s also a lot of fun. I just wanted to meet the other kids and play soccer.

Playing soccer with the kids there taught me that kids are pretty much the same everywhere in the world. I didn’t speak Hebrew very well, and they didn’t speak English very well. But, it wasn’t difficult for us to communicate on the field. Sports is a universal language for kids, and soccer is the universal sport.

The kids were really good soccer players and we played several games that afternoon. Everyone played very hard and we all had a great time. The problem is that their only soccer field is a concrete schoolyard without goals, and the kids don’t even have shin guards to wear.

I got the idea for the Kids Helping Kids Soccer Tournament when I saw one of the kids fall and get hurt during our game. As a soccer player, I know that kids fall all the time during games. I also know that it really hurts when you fall on concrete! I think that resurfacing their schoolyard, real soccer goals, and sports equipment will make a big difference in the lives of these kids. Kids learn better when they are happy, and having a safe place to play soccer will make these kids very happy.

Together, kids can make a difference!
Please visit our Sports Equipment Gift Registry NOW and give the gift of Sports!

zach

Please email my dad at khk@guttman.us for more information or if you are interested in becoming a sponsor.

Click HERE and see photos of my friends with their new equipment bought from our Sports Equipment Gift Registry!