Doug Bishop Interviews Eric

Doug Bishop is not only a teacher, but also a reporter. He writes for The Kent Island Bay Times. On June 28, 2006, Doug wrote the article Have a ball in Iraq as noted in our last posting. Doug's article inspired many people to make donations of soccer balls to Eric's Goal, through Aunt Shirley at The Old Stevensville Barber Shop.

We are happy to report that Eric has been home for a little R & R (rest & recuperation)! During his visit home, Eric & Doug met for the first time. Doug interviewed Eric for a follow-up article which is expected to be printed within the next couple of weeks.

We wanted to take this opportunity to thank Doug for his wonderful article and his interest in Eric's Goal. He has helped us all to join together to support our American soldiers and to work for the good of the Iraqi children as well.

Thank you Doug for all the good you do, for us and others! We wish there were more reporters like you in this world!

Old Stevensville Barbershop, Eastern Shore of MD Collects Soccer Balls for Iraqi Children

Owners Shirley Crook and Charlie Bronson have been busily collecting soccer balls to send to Iraq. Shirley is Eric's aunt, and when she heard about his goal of 5,000 soccer balls for the Iraqi kids, Aunt Shirley got involved! Soon after the Bay Times ran an article on her efforts titled "Have a ball in Iraq" dated June 28, 06 by Doug Bishop. Doug did an excellent job of explaining the purpose of Eric's Goal and his many connections to the Eastern Shore of Maryland. The article boasts a photo of Shirley and Charlie with a box in their shop for soccer ball donations.

Shirley and Charlie have been actively talking up Eric’s Goal and collecting soccer balls ever since. To date they have sent over 250 soccer balls to Eric in Iraq! Shirley said a dear lady saw the shipping people packing up her boxes and asked what that was all about. When she heard about Eric’s Goal she donated $10 toward postage. And a coach who is an old Marine donated $20. This helped pay for the postage and for 4 pumps as well! One hundred of the soccer balls came from Jessie Simmera from the Annapolis Soccer Club and were signed by the kids who donated them. Another 136 were received from the Kent Island Youth Soccer League. Charlie helped Shirley deflate all the balls for shipping. Hearing all about the kind people Shirley has been encountering really lifts your spirits! One story Shirley told was about an old soldier who graduated from West Point in 1949. He said he had his uniform ready but they didn’t call him for this war. He told Shirley, “Tell that nephew of yours that I’m rooting for him!” He served our country for about 35 years. I know that Eric will enjoy these stories as well as the rest of us!

Thanks Shirley, and Charlie too!!! You are doing a super job!!! And many thanks to Doug Bishop for writing such a clear, honest, and heart warming article!

Our thanks to the Annapolis Soccer Club, the Kent Island Youth Soccer League and the Kent Island and Eastern Shore Communities for your generous donations and support!

Contributions from Becky & Bob in Sacramento, CA

Becky & Bob Connolly are the proud parents of Army Ranger Matthew Connolly, who has already served our country for a year in Iraq. Bob is a soccer player and he put a poster up in a local soccer arena. Together they have been collecting and sending balls and equipment to the 101st Airborne for over a year now. When Becky and Bob heard about Eric's Goal they decided to send some of the donations his way. The first shipment was sent a few days ago and consisted of jerseys, shorts, jackets, balls, shin guards, and goalie gloves. According to Becky, help comes from others. She says, "we couldn't do it without the local community of soccer families and their donations."

The Sacramento contributions bring our total up to 1,825 soccer balls!!!!!!!

Thanks Becky & Bob and the Sacramento community for your constant support of our troops!

And thank you Matthew for your continued service to our country!

Soccer Balls from Peg Michie in MD

When Peg Michie heard about Eric's Goal, she decided to join our efforts, and that lead her to our dear friends at The Soccer Shack in Bel Air, MD. Peg wanted everyone to know that John McHugh gave her a "2 for 1 deal on the balls, & the needles & pumps were given free." Thanks Peg for the 10 balls, 5 needles and the pumps (which should come in shortly) and also for money to cover postage to Eric in Iraq. Peg included a note with the message "Go USA!". Thank you Peg for your generous donation! And thanks also to John McHugh at The Soccer Shack for your continued support! Eric, the Iraqi kids and the American soldiers appreciate your contribution!

Addendum: 9-16-06
Peg's brother and sister-in-law, Bob & Ellen Herrera generously donated 10 soccer balls to Eric's Goal for the Iraqi children. Peggy did the purchasing for them from the Soccer Shack. While there Peg received a box of 6 pairs of soccer shoes/cleats collected by the Soccer Shack (from the Fallston In-house clinic)!

Thanks to Bob & Ellen for your thoughtfulness and to the Soccer Shack for their many donations of collected goods for the Iraqi kids! We will pack them all up and send them out today to Eric for distribution to the Iraqi children!

Berkeley Donations to Eric's Goal!

We offer our thanks for the generous donations raised by soccer player and enthusiast Tim Wagner, of Berkeley, California. Tim raised $460 for Eric's Goal in addition to collecting used equipment (shin guards, jerseys and balls) from his soccer buddies. I'm sure the Iraqi children will put the equipment to good use. The monies will be used to pay for postage and to buy more equipment.


Here are some pictures of Tim playing pickup soccer, on the beach no less! Tim is the one holding the ball in the team photo.


Tim learned of Eric's Goal through Eric's brother-in-law Kevin, who was on one of the pickup teams on which Tim plays. Tim continues to make efforts to collect donations for Eric's Goal. His enthusiasm has been inspiring to us!


We also extend our thanks to the following folks, all of whom contributed to Tim's collection: Aldi Haryopratomo, Andrew Brown, Andrew McNichol, Angela Roles, Bill Briscoe, Brad Bowen, Brian McManus, Buck Kopec, Cat Poon, Chelle Stearns, Christopher Kimmins, Chrystal Carden, Chuck Furtado, David Roles, David Stearns, Diego Arana, Eddy Nahmias, Elisa Paredes, Farhad Fouladi, Frank Boyle, Gandhi Ahimsaputra, Helen Kopec, Jason DeCamp, Jason Villasenor, John Freeman, John Mittelbach, Kazusa Toda, Kevin Woods, Kjeld Pedersen, Marlene Roles, Mayumi Levesque, Moni Orife, Nick Roles, Nico Blanchard, Oliver Wienand, Richard Mills, Robert Wagner, Spencer Campbell, Tim Wagner, Trudy Roles, Tyrone Schieszler, Yonatan Godefa.