NEW YORK: Major League Soccer has announced the finalists for the 2019 MLS WORKS Community MVP Contest presented by Wells Fargo, including Vancouver Whitecaps FC local representative Kal Dosanjh.
Fans are encouraged to learn more about the finalists and vote for the Grand Prize winner by visiting MLSsoccer.com/CommunityMVP and using the vote and Tweet buttons to cast their vote.
The MLS WORKS Community MVP recognizes individuals using soccer to make a difference in their community. The Grand Prize winner, voted on by fans, will be announced on-field during halftime of the 2019 MLS All-Star Game presented by Target at Exploria Stadium in Orlando on July 31, and will receive a $25,000 donation for their selected charity.
Throughout June, MLS fans had the opportunity to nominate individuals who are building better communities through soccer. Twenty-four finalists have been chosen, one representing each MLS club. Finalists were selected for making a positive impact in one of the following areas:
- Social issues focusing on inclusion, diversity and equality
- Health issues affecting men, women or children
- Community service for a local, national or international charitable organization
- Sustainability efforts to create a cleaner, healthier environment
KAL Dosanjh is the founder of the Kids Play Youth Foundation. Kal’s call to service started more than 20 years ago as he began his career in law enforcement, including having served as a patrol officer for 15 years in the Downtown Eastside, one of the most volatile areas of Western Canada. He has also worked on the Firearms Interdiction Team, as a Drug Squad investigator, Undercover Operator, Acting Sergeant on the riot squad, in addition to assisting on large-scale investigations, including homicides, robberies, and serious assaults and is now a Senior Detective in the Financial Crime Unit.
As a family man and father of two, Kal founded the Kids Play Foundation, a nonprofit organization working towards keeping youth away from negative influences such as drugs, gangs, and violence through sports and education. Through the organization, he is able to provide free programs to the larger community as a whole. Kal is someone who recognizes the inherent value in providing sports and education programs to youth for the purpose of instilling strong fundamental habits and qualities – teamwork, dedication, perseverance, and much more.
Since its inception in 2015, Kids Play has put over 60,000 kids through entirely free programming such as organized sports, conferences, after school programs with the Surrey, Abbotsford and Langley school boards, as well as other miscellaneous projects. There are over 500 youth volunteers who have joined the organization. All Kids Play programs are free of cost and run solely by volunteers. Kal himself runs the organization in a volunteer capacity. A small soccer tournament which he started almost a decade ago, has turned into an annual Vancouver Whitecaps FC supported tournament held at BC Place Stadium, which hosted just shy of 800 kids, and over 300 youth volunteers, in 2019.
EACH Community MVP finalist will receive two tickets to a 2019 MLS regular season match in their local market, a trip to MLS All-Star week in Orlando and a $1,000 donation for their selected charity.
The MLS All-Star game presented by Target, will be televised domestically on TSN and TVA Sports in Canada, FS1 and UniMás in the U.S., and in more than 170 countries around the world. Coverage begins at 4:30 p.m. PT on TSN. Tickets for the 2019 MLS All-Star Game presented by Target are available for purchase at Ticketmaster.com
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