CHICAGO (July 11, 2014) – Major League Soccer announced Friday the finalist for the MLS WORKS Community MVP contest presented by Wells Fargo. Chip Huber has been selected to as finalist to represent the Chicago Fire for his dedication to the fight against Malaria. The Grand Prize winner, as voted by the fans, will be awarded a $10,000 donation for the charity of their choice and a trip to the 2014 AT&T MLS All-Star Game in Portland.
Fan voting is open now through July 25 on the MLS WORKS web site: www.MLSsoccer.com/CommunityMVP or by CLICKING HERE. Fans may also vote for Huber by tweeting: “I vote for the @MLSWORKS @WellsFargo @ChicagoFire #CommunityMVP” from 1 p.m. CT on July 24 through 11 p.m. CT on July 25. The Grand Prize winner will be announced on Friday, July 25 at 1 pm CT via twitter by @MLSWORKS.
“MLS WORKS is committed to supporting the communities that support our clubs,” said JoAnn Neale, MLS Chief Administrative Officer. “These nominees are using the world’s game to make a difference on a local level and we are proud to share their inspiring stories as well as recognize their incredible accomplishments.”
In addition to earning the chance to win the Grand Prize of $10,000 for the charity of their choice, Wells Fargo has pledged a $1,000 donation to each of the other 18 finalists’ charities.
“Wells Fargo recognizes the importance and impact of everyday community heroes, and we are proud to support and celebrate the 19 winners of the MLS WORKS Community MVP Award,” said Jamie Moldafsky, Wells Fargo Chief Marketing Officer. “When you think about a Community MVP, you think about someone that goes above and beyond to help better the world around them - whether large or small, these selfless efforts can make a huge difference in strengthening our communities.”
One of the world’s most deadly diseases, Malaria kills more than 750,000 children under the age of five every year. In an effort to fight this diseas, Huber initiated an event in 2009 with the Cornerstone University Men’s Soccer team called “Night of Nets”. The goal of the initial event was to raise awareness and funds for the purchase of malaria bed nets for communities in Sub-Saharan Africa. In the last five years, Huber has continued to engage the men’s soccer program at Cornerstone University with an annual fundraiser, which has since collected a total of $60,000 and 10,000 bed nets. His efforts are not limited to Cornerstone, as he has successfully incorporated outreach initiatives with three additional college soccer programs, numerous high school soccer teams and a variety of other sporting teams and groups.
As his charity, Huber has selected World Vision, an organization dedicated to fight world hunger through donations that support World Vision’s aid, child nutrition and agricultural solutions around the world.
