Community
SV Yellow Hook is a club that is completely and 100% inclusive. We accept EVERYONE regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, economic status, political beliefs, sexual orientation, sexual identity, gender identity including any and all members of the LGBTQ+ community, including trans players. We believe if you love the game and are good enough to play, you’re a warmly welcomed part of our community. This is why we’ve established a permanent partnership with grassroots group Football v Homophobia. We believe that homophobia and transphobia are a blight on society but even more acutely a blight on our beautiful game. By working with these groups we aim to make everyone feel welcome and provide education to all of our members about why total inclusivity is the only way forward for our club and our game.
Here at SV Yellow Hook, we go beyond what normal football clubs do. By providing free access to organized soccer, we allow our players to get the best of what the sport can offer without having the added stress and anxiety of a payment. We believe access to sport is a human right, and for many - it is so much more than "playing a game." It's a vital outlet.
For so many adults, that outlet is robbed from them as they grow out of the youth ranks and society as a whole is left worse off because of it. If you're capable enough to play, nothing should stand in your way. Mental and Physical Health is too important to not fight for, and by providing a cost free opportunity to be part of a club, we make sure everyone, regardless of their circumstance or background, has access to it.
We’re also proud to have established a working relationship with Bay Ridge Cares, a local all volunteer not for profit here in Brooklyn, who identify other NFPs who could use the assistance we offer as a club. Grandma’s Love Inc. was the first of those NFP’s we’ve aligned with through Bay Ridge Cares and we couldn’t be happier to help. Grandma’s Love is a local NFP based in Brooklyn that works to get public school students and their families meals when public schools are closed. Unfortunately so many of our city’s public school students simply do not eat when school buildings aren’t open. Grandma’s Love steps in, and with the help of local educators, they identify students in need and provide them with a backpack filled with a weekend’s worth of food for a family of four. We’ve helped raise over $200 and have donated nearly $500 worth of food from February 1 through the end of March 2022 and have also volunteered to help Grandma’s love transport books around the city so FREE school libraries could be established in high need areas. Our efforts with Grandma’s Love Inc will be ongoing as we not only look to grow our impact on the field, but off it, and in our communities as well.
On March 13 SV Yellow Hook also sponsored a fundraising event for our fellow NYC Soccer Community members NY Ukrainians of the CSL’s Second Division. We fully funded the live streaming of NY Ukrainians league match versus DSNY on streaming service Game In Frame in an effort to raise awareness and funds for Razom For Ukraine, a local group identified by NY Ukrainians as the best place to donate money towards helping the people of this war torn country. Our efforts helped the NY Ukrainians raise over $1000, with many of the donations coming from SV Yellow Hook players and supporters.
This Spring we’re also going to be working with another member of the US Soccer Community, Sporting Seratonin, based in Philadelphia. Their mission as a club is “Mental Health First, Soccer Second” and we couldn’t agree more. As May is Mental Health Awareness Month, we’ve pledged as a club to work with Sporting Seratonin to raise awareness for mental health issues as well as provide our players and the community at large with resources all month in an effort to combat the current mental health crisis our country is facing.
We know that what goes on in our club OFF the pitch is far more significant that what goes on ON it, and we’re grateful for all of our supporters and club members who help us make the world a kinder place.
We believe in giving back. Our communities survive on the dedicated work of small nonprofits and the armies of volunteers who keep them running. In lieu of payment we ask our guys to make a small time commitment to the causes mentioned above, essentially the time it would take to play one match, on a semi-regular basis, and as a team we hope to bring much needed change to our communities and to the NYC Soccer Scene. We will always be here to offer hands-on assistance to small, volunteer based nonprofits that could use the hands of a few strong lads or lasses..
