ESPOO MAGAZINE 1/2018

MY ESPOO
TIMO PORTHAN
GROWING UP WITH THE HELP OF TEAM SPORTS
A FOOTBALL IS ROLLING around the artificial
turf of Espoo’s inflated football hall. The Espoonlahti
Icehearts team, composed of boys aged 9
to 11, is practicing at full throttle. The team also
practices ice hockey and cross training, and already
plays football at the division level.
However, the success of the team is not measured
in division rankings, but social work. Icehearts,
an association working to prevent social
exclusion, organises team sports for children and
young people who need special support.
“We use sports to teach children team skills
and how to deal with disappointments and
guide them towards an athletic lifestyle,” says
Jyrki Tuukkanen, Managing Director at Espoon
Icehearts ry.
Espoo has four boys Icehearts teams, and
next autumn they will be joined by a girls
team. The activities are free of charge for the
participants. The educators acting as mentors
for the teams support the children and youths
also at school and at home for a period of 12
years. Icehearts pledges to support the children
“from pre-school to conscription”.
“With our help, many young people can
avoid social exclusion and find employment instead.”
PIRITTA PORTHAN
READ MORE
ABOUT THE
ASSOCIATION
ICEHEARTS.FI
There are
currently
32 Icehearts
teams in ten
different locations
in Finland. Each
team contains
some 25 children.
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