[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 103 (Wednesday, June 20, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E869-E870]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  MICKIE MAY LEVIN: CLEATS FOR A CAUSE

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                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 20, 2018

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, one of the most important values that 
we strive to teach our children is to give back to others. Well, it's 
time for us adults to go back to school, as 13-year-old Mickie May 
Levin is teaching us a thing or two about generosity.
   This year, Levin had her bat mitzvah, and in preparation for this 
rite of passage, she decided to undertake a service project that would 
give back to her local community in the spirit of Jewish tradition. In 
brainstorming ideas, she kept returning to soccer, a sport that she had 
already fell in love with. She played on her school team, and she 
enjoyed how the sport brings people together from a variety of 
backgrounds.
   From her own time on the field, she understood the importance of 
having a good pair of cleats on your feet during a game, particularly 
when the rain started to come down. She also knew that she and many of 
her friends had pairs of gently used cleats piling up in their closets 
and garages--at that age, kids outgrow clothes and shoes very quickly. 
An idea was thus born: she would collect these cleats and donate them 
to kids who couldn't afford to buy them.
   Levin started out small, asking around her friend group and 
eventually placing yellow cardboard boxes labelled ``Cleats for a 
Cause'' around her school and elsewhere in her community. She then 
started reaching out to individuals and organizations, asking if they 
had any shoes to spare. Her donations soared after Tarik Guendouzi, the 
director of the boys' teams for Rise FC, responded and told her that 
his club wanted to help. Although Levin provided just one cardboard 
box, the families of the club brought so many shoes that she had to 
utilize her mother's pickup truck to transport them all back to her 
house.
   Levin then gave the hundreds of shoes she had collected to the All 
Nations Sports Academy, an organization in Houston that provides 
underprivileged children opportunities to play soccer. The young kids 
received them jubilantly, taking the field with new shoes on their feet 
and a noticeable swagger in their step.
   Mr. Speaker, Mickie May Levin has a heart of gold, and she leads by 
example in making an impact in her community. It is because of the 
generosity of individuals like Levin that our country is what it is 
today. Young and old, we can all learn something from her about 
kindness.
   And that is just the way it is.

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