Happy New Year everyone!
We hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas break and excellent New Year’s Eve.
The previous year was one packed full of exciting experiences for NorthStar, and that was made possible by the wonderful support provided by this wonderful community.
This year marked the 9th annual NorthStar celebration, and it was one for the books! In total, $41,160 was raised to continue to support NorthStar’s mission. This is the largest amount of funds ever contributed during the event, and we continue to be encouraged by the generous support.
This money will go towards our operational costs so we can continue to support our team and further develop our various youth leadership programs.
The event featured some amazing speakers, both coaches and players, who shared their
experiences with NorthStar and how they had seen God work in their lives through our
programs. As NorthStar staff, it was humbling to hear their testimonies, and we are so grateful to them for their kind words and continued support.
Coach Anne Metz, the former assistant women's soccer coach at Samford University, joined NorthStar for the Fall 2024 season to coach our U13 Boys State League team. During the banquet, she delivered a powerful speech about how soccer has shaped her life and how she, in turn, has been able to positively impact others through the sport.
“This was the driving factor to becoming a coach at NorthStar – I want young kids to have access to coaching and opportunities to play,” said coach Anne Metz. “Throughout my time, I have learned a couple valuable lessons. I will share three of them with you –
Soccer has taught me three powerful lessons:
1. It reveals what’s broken in the world, and can teach us how we respond to it.
2. It’s not about one-time conversations, it’s about long obedience in the same direction.
3. It provides opportunities to build others up, equipping them to lead and thrive.
This is what I’ve come to value most about my time with NorthStar: the chance to pour into others, just as my coach once poured into me. Seeing young players grow not just in their skills but in their character and leadership is one of the greatest blessings.”
At NorthStar. we believe in equipping others with the tools they need to lead. This extends not only to our players, but also to our coaches. We hope that as volunteers coach with us, they develop skills to promote positive change in the world around them. As staff at NorthStar, we have seen the fruit of our volunteers' hard work as many of our players have chosen to step up into leadership roles in our Youth Leadership programs.
Steve Collins is a volunteer who has inspired many of his players and is a coach that many of us look to for inspiration. At the 2024 NorthStar celebration, we awarded Steve Collins with the NorthStar Navigator Award. The NorthStar Soccer Ministries Navigator Award recognizes long-term dedication to youth development, with candidates having at least five years of involvement with NorthStar and similar service outside the organization. The award honors those who go above and beyond to guide youth in finding their North Star. The award was presented to Steve by Romale Smith and Jonathan Bailey, two of his former players.
Coach Stephen Collins, after gaining professional youth coaching experience, joined NorthStar in 2013. After a break for health reasons, he returned in Fall 2022 and has coached every season through Spring 2024.
Volunteers like Steve are a core part of what makes NorthStar so special, and without them, we would never be able to fulfill our call to support the youth in our community.
We are especially thankful for our generous donors who made this event possible. Without the continued support of our event sponsors- A-1 products, Arlington properties, and Ingram Equipment company- our event would not have been possible.
We also want to thank our table sponsors for their generous support! Your giving makes it possible for us to continue to build programs that equip others to lead and guide youth to their North Star. We are incredibly thankful for The Wright Foundation, Harri Haikala, Raymond and Claudia Butler, Donna Gaskins Realty, Business Planning Solutions, Southland Transportation Group, Knight Eady, Paige and Maddox Casey, Shannon Waltchak, Michael Mulvaney, Wade Hughes, The Prewitt Group, Chambers Total Body, M&B Hangers, Donne Toomey Interiors, Chris Doehring, Dan Lovell, Jon Hunt, and Christian Brothers Automotive. Your support makes this work possible, we couldn't do it without you!
So, as we enter into the 2025, we’d like to issue a challenge to all of you. This year, as you’re considering your new year’s resolutions, consider making one to be more involved in NorthStar.
It doesn’t have to be a big commitment. With a simple pledge of just $10 a month, you could support our work with one soccer player for a season. For $20, you could support that player for an entire year!
Or, if you have time, you could commit to volunteering with us. We always need more soccer coaches, but we also can use people who are willing to just sign up for a day or two to help set up soccer fields, pack newsletters, or just spread the word of our mission to others. However you want to get involved, if you feel led, please do not hesitate this year to commit. We’d be happy to have you.
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