Barnes helps homeless kids
Orlando City player launches new foundation
A woman, a child and a dog huddled on a street corner late at night. The scene is not uncommon in downtown Orlando, but the image stuck with
long after walked by.
“It was way too late for any child to have been out, sitting on the corner hungry,” Barnes said.
For years, the Orlando City player’s heart broke seeing homeless children in Houston, the city he calls home, and he dreamed of ways to help. Now in Orlando, he thought he may have the resources and support to pull it off. So he reached out to
Orlando City’s co-founder and president of the club’s foundation, and team chaplain
for help. Together they helped launch the first event, “Little Heroes, Big Hearts,” hosted by the Giles Barnes Foundation at Orlando Union Rescue Mission downtown.
Around 60 kids attended the event, Barnes said, which featured sports and talent competitions, games, mentorship and a pizza dinner.
United World Soccer, an Orlando-based retailer, donated gear for gift bags given to each child.
“To see them have stuff, and, ‘Oh, this is for me? I’ve got my own soccer ball and a jersey too?!’ To see that was — you can’t put a price on it,” Barnes said.
Teammates he
and all attended to support Barnes’ effort, along with Orlando Pride coach and forward among others. Barnes said he hopes the night of fun activities allows the children to focus their energy, work together as a team, practice leadership skills and shows them “that we’re all one, that we should love each other regardless of any situation, gender, race, circumstance. So it’s all about the kids, really, just giving them something to be happy about.”
He’s already making plans for the next event and hopes to draw more sponsors and donations to further develop the Giles Barnes Foundation.
“As a child, you have hopes and dreams and I want them to be given the same platform of confidence,” Barnes said. “It’s basically about putting a smile on kids’ faces, giving them the right values and pointing them in the right direction.”
The same night Barnes launched his first foundation event, two other Orlando City payers took the stage at Amway Center during a benefit concert to raise money for hurricane relief in Puerto Rico.
and presented a custom Orlando City jersey to Puerto Rican singer and producer
Yandel and a long lineup of other artists gathered to host the “Puerto Rico, We Are One” benefit.
Orlando City will host a fundraiser of its own on Nov. 4 when the team plays the Puerto Rican national team at Orlando City Stadium.
will not play for Orlando City in its last game of the season Sunday in Philadelphia. Johnson will serve a onegame suspension due to yellow-card accumulation.
The Lions’ midfielder returned last week from a five-game suspension during a domestic-violence investigation.
He subbed on in the 57th minute of the team’s 1-0 loss to Columbus and earned a yellow card in the 83rd minute, which triggered the suspension.