Last week, “Devious Maids” star and soccer mom Ana Ortiz (literally) kicked off Play Soccer For a Change, an initiative supporting US Youth Soccer in providing underserved families with more opportunities to get outside and play soccer together. The Play Soccer For a Change campaign is a part of Merck Consumer Care’s Active Family Project, an organization dedicated to helping moms to get their families active outdoors.
Ortiz, who grew up in Manhattan, feels strongly about providing opportunities for all kids to get active and enjoy sports.
“I grew up in Washington Heights, and we didn’t have any of these resources,” she says. “To me, it’s really important to give back and get these kids out there and get them active.”
Ortiz says she and her family get active by hiking together at home in Los Angeles. “We’ll go on really long walks and look at animals and plants. My daughter loves to collect flowers and my son loves to chase lizards, and we name them,” she says. When she’s outside with her kids, Ortiz always brings her imagination. “I pretend to see fairy homes in trees, things like that. If you give [your kids] one little idea, they’ll take it and run with it, that’s the wonderful thing.”
She and her daughter also take dance lessons, and of course, Ortiz and the family attend her 3-year-old son and 5 year-old daughter’s soccer games together. “I get the whole family to go, and it shows [the kids] how important they are to the family, and we get to make fools of ourselves screaming and cheering for them,” she says.
For every comment, like, or share on the Active Family Project’s Facebook page now through September 30, the Active Family Project will donate $1 to US Youth Soccer, up to $15,000. The proceeds will go toward soccer equipment and training in underserved communities in order to provide more families with the opportunity to get active together by playing soccer.
Click here to support US Youth Soccer through the Active Family Project.
