31 May

Happy News: The RISSE Soccer Team Is Going On Retreat!

by Jon Katz
Going On Retreat

Thanks to a soldier in the Army Of Good, the RISSE soccer team, every one of them, is going on a weekend retreat to the Pompanuck Farm Institute, a gorgeous eco-and farming  retreat center near Cambridge, N.Y. sometime in July.

Last weekend, the soccer team came to Bedlam farm, and then to Pompanuck for lunch. Seeing how  much they loved Pompanuck,  I wrote later that I was determined to try to help them spend a weekend retreat at Pompanuck. They could spend some time hiking, swimming, taking some classes in one of the most beautiful settings in upstate New York.

Pompanuck has 78 acres, and adjoins 2,800 acres of state forest.

There are hiking trails, streams, a bakery, gardens, a beautiful kitchen and recreation center. We will keep them busy, and I imagine this will be a weekend they will not soon forget.

One day later, an angel who asked to remain anonymous send me a message saying she wanted to pay for the team to go on a weekend retreat to Pompanuck and she would send a check to help cover the costs.

The check is on the way.

Tomorrow, I’m meeting with Scott Carrino, the co-owner of Pomanuck and the Round House Cafe, to firm up the details and negotiate the final costs.

The kids – 16 of them – will be accompanied by their mentor and coach Ali (Amjad Abdullah Mohammed) and another teacher.

To keep the costs down, and  because we would love to,  Maria and I will help cook some of the meals. There is a big grille and full kitchen at Pompanuck and we will set up some classes in story-telling, art and how to deal with stress and body movement.

Pompanuck will provide the dinners.

Maria, who has hiked on Pompanuck’s very beautiful woodland trails, has volunteered to lead a hiking trip into the forest. There is a big field for soccer practice, and a large and room Yurt for the kids to sleep in, along with a coach or teacher.

Inside one of the buildings, there are game tables, a piano and puzzles, big sofas to dit on a giant fireplace to keep warm.

This is great news for these young men and women, many grew up in refugee camps and have barely been outside of Albany, where their families have settled. They have been through a lot, and are adjusting to America. Last year, the RISSE offices were burned to the ground by arsonists, and all of the tires on their vans were slashed.

The girls on the team will be present, sleeping in separate quarters.

They were thrilled to be at Pompanuck, running in the fields, looking for frogs and tadpoles, feeding the fish.

The soccer team was created to help these kids form a community and support for one another as they adjust to America during a difficult time.Their motto, chanted in vans, is “we eat together, we ride together, we play together, we die together.” So great for them to have this experience, and H—–, I am ever grateful to your for your generosity and empathy.

I didn’t even get a chance to try to ask for help or fund-raise, that is really how the Army is Good often works, they seem ever poised to help do good, and they (you) have done a lot. This is good and happy news, real news, I will keep you posted and take some photos at the retreat. Thanks for all that you have done, it is kind of mind-boggling.

It is so much better to do good than to argue about what good is.

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