黑料专区

The love of soccer brought them together. Now, five Pfeiffer alums are sharing the spirit of the sport with others through their involvement with Peacepassers.org, a non-profit that connects children in underserved communities with gently used soccer gear.  

Alejandra Buchanan Miller, 鈥�03, has spent the past 13 years of her career working for Adidas. So she knows, firsthand, that soccer gear isn鈥檛 cheap. 

鈥淲e鈥檙e talking about $200 for a pair of shoes,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 not exactly accessible to everyone.鈥� 

But Miller, who fell in love with soccer at age 5, also understands the joy and sense of community that soccer can bring.  

鈥淚 can look back and say that soccer shaped my college years,鈥� she said. 鈥淪occer is where my lifelong friendships started.鈥� 

While at 黑料专区 on an athletic scholarship, Miller joined the women鈥檚 soccer team, which racked up three state cup championship titles in the next three years. Through the women鈥檚 beach league team, she also met Candace Murray, a rival soccer player from Queens who would later become the founder of PeacePassers.org. 

Murray was a 鈥済reat player,鈥� Miller said, and the women quickly became friends, despite the school rivalry.  Miller said it was a 鈥渘atural鈥� fit for her to get involved with PeacePassers.org when Murray created the charity in 2008.  

Miller and four other women from the former Pfeiffer team鈥� Natasha Kittrell (鈥�04), Cori McHugh (鈥�02), Marissa Thomas (鈥�03), and Nicole Baird (鈥�03)鈥� had continued playing together in a women鈥檚 beach soccer league. They started wearing PeacePassers jerseys when they played in tournaments to raise awareness about the cause.聽聽

鈥淓veryone in Charlotte is aware of PeacePassers because we鈥檙e very involved and very competitive,鈥� Miller chuckled. 

The team also represented the charity internationally at the Montreal Beach Soccer Tournament in 2012, when they earned a second-place finish after competing with teams from Mexico, Canada, and Brazil.

Murray, the executive director of PeacePassers.org, said the Pfeiffer alums鈥� acting as 鈥渂rand ambassadors鈥� has greatly increased the number of people the charity reaches. 

鈥淭hey recognize that soccer has given them so much, and they鈥檙e very passionate,鈥� Murray said. 鈥淭heir representation has been a creative and resourceful way to make the charity more visible.鈥� 

McHugh said the friendships she formed through soccer at Pfeiffer, and the opportunity to give back through PeacePassers.org, 鈥渃an鈥檛 be matched.鈥� 

鈥淭his foundation all started with Pfeiffer,鈥� McHugh said. 鈥淲e are fortunate to have cherished the last 20 years, from the days at Pfeiffer until now, sharing in our love for the game.鈥澛�

Kittrell also credits Pfeiffer for giving her 鈥渢he confidence to do what I love.鈥� After graduating with a business administration degree, she went on to become an assistant coach at both Queens University and Western Carolina University, and she currently serves as a director of fitness and recreation for a country club in Highlands, North Carolina. 

Kitrell has paid her gratitude forward through PeacePassers.org by representing the charity through the soccer team and also donating team sets of uniforms and other gently used soccer gear.  

鈥淪eeing the joy on the children鈥檚 faces when receiving new uniforms or soccer balls is a great feeling,鈥� Kittrell said. 

Miller agreed. 

鈥淭o be able to give back to the community through the game, to give gear to these children in underserved areas, it鈥檚 very nice to support a charity that does that,鈥� Miller said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an awesome charity, and we get to support it by doing what we love.鈥� 

Since its creation, PeacePassers.org has connected more than 50,000 pieces of soccer gear to children in more than 100 countries worldwide. To learn more about PeacePassers.org or to get involved, visit the nonprofit鈥檚 website at www.peacepassers.org.