DALE HUFFMAN
COMMENTARY
Miranda Rinehart’s family, friends and students are proud of her for recently completing fund-raising activities to help children fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa.
Rinehart, who is a health and physical education teacher at Bethel High School in Bethel Twp. near Tipp City, first hosted a three-on-three barefoot soccer tournament.
“I got permission to use the school football field, and we divided the field into four smaller soccer fields,” she explained.
She said that for a first-time effort, the charity soccer tournament was a success.
“Those who attended the sessions gave a donation to watch the competition. There were three on each team. Some were all female, some all male, and many teams were made up of men and women. Each participant donated $15 to enter, and among other things, got a T-shirt.”
By hosting the local tournament for soccer, Rinehart was eligible to run in the New York City Marathon. She trained, ran in the New York race and completed the marathon. Local friends pledged money in her honor, and all of it went for the HIV/AIDS project.
“The series of events was triggered because my husband is a real fan of the World Soccer competition,” Rinehart said. “When I heard about the grassroots soccer program, which is called “Lose the Shoes”, everything was just falling into place.”
“A number of my students took part in the tournament, or helped me plan and organize the competition,” she said.
There were two age divisions in the soccer tournament, 14 and younger, and 15 and older. She said each game was staged for 10 minutes, and “the rules were World Cup style,” she said.
Local businesses and some sports figures donated prizes and gift cards, which went to winners on the top soccer teams.
Rinehart, the mother of a 4-year-old son and a 2-year-old daughter, said she enjoyed the soccer tournament and participating in the New York marathon.
“You can‘t really go wrong when you are doing something you enjoy — and when all the proceeds go to help programs for the young people in Africa who are fighting AIDS,” she said.
“In all, I handed over $2,000 — the money we made from both events —which will help fight the epidemic and will help educate African youth about life skills and the prevention of AIDS.
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