It all started ten years ago at the 2004 European Championships. Jon Burns, Lionsraw CEO and die-hard England fan, saw the passion of his fellow countrymen and thought “What kind of change could we make in the world if we could turn this passion for soccer into a force that creates a positive difference globally?”
Fast-forward ten years and Burns calls Lionsraw a “soccer fan mobilization organization” with projects in seven countries across five continents that mobilize soccer fans to make a difference doing things like building and revitalizing community facilities, using soccer to teach life skills and developing community leaders.
Pretty perfect for the FC Dallas Foundation to partner with, right?
Just six weeks ago, Burns moved full-time to Dallas to lead Lionsraw’s efforts in the United States and it really couldn’t be a more perfect time. In the last couple years, FC Dallas has partnered with Lionsraw and the Albertsons Gear Up Project to donate (almost literally) tons of soccer gear to both underprivileged in Dallas/Fort Worth as well as around the globe where Lionsraw works.
In 2014, nearly 20 people from Dallas including FC Dallas employees and season ticket holders went down to Curitiba, Brazil to join Lionsraw in perhaps their biggest project to date around the 2014 World Cup. FC Dallas staff have also joined Lionsraw for a legacy project at an underprivileged school in west Dallas and other smaller initiatives, but things are about to get ramped up even further.
“I relocated here six weeks ago because of the FCD relationship which is genuinely precious to us and the boom of soccer in the U.S.,” said Burns. “We see that increasingly the opportunity is growing to use soccer in America to push into communities and take American soccer fans globally to make a difference.”
If Burns talks the talk, he certainly walks the walk too. The Englishman could be seen at each of the FC Dallas playoff games and he, along with Lionsraw and the FC Dallas Foundation, is planning a huge project right here in Dallas next summer.
“We’re launching a six-week program in downtown Dallas,” said Burns who plans to mobilize 1,000 volunteers. “We’re spending a week at each school with fix up projects and then running a soccer school with lifestyle and healthy eating. We’re going to ask people to volunteer for a day or a week.”
So how did Lionsraw and FC Dallas get connected? It’s one of the lasting legacies of someone near and dear to this organization.
“It all started with Bobby Rhine. We met with and I brought him an England signed pennant and Bobby died about two months after we met him,” said Burns who wrote a tribute to Bobby on the Lionsraw website. “It went by the wayside for a couple years and then one of our guys who had been to Africa met [FCD Foundation Director] Melissa Reddick and we met and started dreaming of what it might look like locally and in Brazil.”
“Local and global” is something you’ll hear Jon say quite a bit. It can be seen in future projects planned in Dallas, as well as projects around the 2016 Copa America in New York, 2016 European Championships in Marseille and 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
READ: Jon Burns - Turning soccer fans into an army for good
“It’s like two pedals on a bicycle,” said Jon. “Always local and global, local and global.”
Stay tuned for future information on the 2015 summer project, but right now there is a way to help Lionsraw. Burns is one of 10 finalists for CNN Heroes 2014. He needs your vote to win the grand prize, voting closes on November 16th.
We encourage all FCD fans to vote once a day and get Burns recognized at the December 7th live CNN Heroes show aired across the world.
