Have a Ball is a non profit foundation that strives to changes kids' lives one soccer ball at a time. As a crisis counselor with Austin Police Department I provide on-scene crisis intervention to victims of crime. We work homicides, suicides, child abuse, sexual assaults, family violence, robberies, traffic fatalities and many other types of crime calls. When we arrive on scene there is often a child who has witnessed the crime or been a direct victim of the crime. These are the kids we are hoping to impact in a positive way with a soccer ball.

At the scene of a crime a child is often feeling very anxious, for obvious reasons. This anxiety causes adults and kids alike to often shake, feel nauseated, and tearful. Research has shown that physical activity reduces stress because it allows the adrenaline that is released into the body during a traumatic event to be worked out. Victim services has always carried teddy bears in our vehicle to give out to kids on-scene for comfort. I have a passion for soccer and wanted to give kids something that would allow them and encourage them to be active rather than just having them hold a teddy bear. I started purchasing a few soccer balls with my own money and began to give them out on-scene. The result was magical. The kids would immediately start playing with the soccer ball. Smiles and laughter would appear even in the midst of a tragedy. They would begin to work out all the anxiety and adrenaline that was pumping through their body because of the traumatic event.  

The other wonderful part about handing out soccer balls is that I don't have to speak the child's language...the soccer ball is universal. A Spanish speaking child and I can communicate through soccer, even though I don't speak Spanish. The bigger picture is that Have A Ball hopes that the soccer ball provides a lifetime of positive things. Our hope is that the child will make friends in the neighborhood as a result of having a new soccer ball on the playground. We hope that he or she will join a team and reap the benefits of a built-in support group.

Have a Ball also donates soccer balls to kids who have been victims of a natural disaster. We have donated soccer balls to the YMCA of Joplin after a tornado destroyed much of their town. We donated to the kids of Bastrop after a fire wiped out over 2,500 homes in their town. We also donated soccer balls to the town of West, Texas after their fertilizer plant exploded leaving hundreds of families without a home. Over the last 5 years, we have given out over 1,500 donated soccer balls. We give out only new soccer balls because we feel like the kids deserve something new. It tells them they are worthy of more than something used.