There are no soccer moms in the inner city - just kids who need all of the positive aspects of organized sports. You know, adults who care about them and are available to answer questions and give advice; a venue to let out their aggression; an opportunity to be part of a group that won't lead them down the path to jail or, worse yet, death.

This is one of the challenges that HEART FOR THE CITY faces - to provide after school activities that will allow young people to participate in organized activities that will provide them at least temporary escape from the situation they are in.

"The kids we deal with," Joe Eriquez recently shared, "are of junior high age - thirteen or fourteen. This is the point in time when they make the decision to pursue street life as a survival mode, or look for a way into mainstream society. Many of these kids are fatherless, or live in a dysfunctional family, and they are looking for role models to emulate. The reality is, either we provide those role models or the street will."

HEART OF THE CITY does far more than produce athletes - they just use sports as the tool to accomplish their greater goals. The coaches that volunteer are trained to be mentors as well as coaches. Fielding a team of inner city kids takes a tremendous amount of dedication, however.

"We have to transport these kids both ways," Eriquez explained, "as there is no one who can drop them off at practice or a game. After each practice and game we have to gather up all of the equipment, for if we don't they wouldn't have it next time they came."

As well as everything else, there is a major financial charge involved. Eriquez shared that for football it costs basically $400.00 per individual to buy the necessary equipment, uniforms and pay the league expenses to have them participate. Their goal is to field a team from each Junior High School in the Glendale inner city area, of which there are eight.

"Raising the funds to field the team is important," Eriquez said, "but finding the people to volunteer as coaches/mentors is, perhaps, even more important. Our whole purpose for being in existence is to minister to the people who participate in all of our programs and, ultimately, to lead them to Christ."

As well as football, Eriquez hopes to create Volleyball teams for girls to participate in at first, and, eventually, maybe for boys as well.

"We are also hoping to create eight Volleyball teams," Eriquez said. "Again, one for each Junior High school in the areas we serve. The expense factor is considerably less for Volleyball, but it still takes over $600.00 per team to take the court," he added.

He would for local churches to send college age volunteers, who not only could help with the coaching but also could exhibit a life style that would be a positive example to these young athletes. He would love to have individuals come out and cheer for the kids on a regular basis, to allow them to see that someone cares about them and their success - both on the field and off. He would love for you to pray diligently, and seek God's will as to howyou can be part of a program that is larger than sports - that is the very essence of life itself - - both temporal and eternal!