America SCORES Partners with S.F. Recreation and Park Dept. to Present Live World Cup Screenings at Civic Center

SAN FRANCISCO, June 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- America SCORES Bay Area is proud to announce its partnership with the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department to present a series of free screenings of the World Cup at Civic Center Plaza beginning Saturday, June 14. With lead sponsorships from Twitter and Visa, the events promise to draw thousands of people to watch the world's most popular sport on enormous video screens amid a fun, festive atmosphere.

The events will also underscore the urgent need to provide soccer fields for San Francisco's public elementary school children.  With the exception of three schools that now have green turf fields thanks to America SCORES, every public elementary school in San Francisco has hard-surface playgrounds made of concrete or asphalt. The playgrounds are unsightly, cause injuries and discourage play.

America SCORES will be calling on those who attend the screenings to help fund the new playgrounds with soft, green turf for San Francisco's public elementary schools that serve lower-income neighborhoods.

"Many of the kids who attend the events at Civic Center would like nothing more than to find themselves up on the same big screen some day playing in the World Cup," said Emily Queliza
, Associate Director
 of America SCORES Bay Area.  "But that dream is difficult to imagine for many kinds in our city because they don't have suitable playgrounds on which to play soccer.  That's why we'll be calling on attendees to join the campaign to buy new playgrounds."

Information about how to donate to America SCORES's Field of Dreams campaign can be found at http://www.americascores.org/affiliates/bay-area/asphalt-to-turf

Members of America SCORES executive leadership will attend all of the World Cup Soccer Live events and will be available for media interviews to discuss their campaign.  To schedule interviews, members of the media are requested to either contact the organization's press representatives below or, during the screenings, a representative of American SCORES at its booth on the border of Grove Street at Civic Center. 

Featured games include:
England vs. Italy: 3 p.m., Saturday, June 14
US vs. Ghana: 3 p.m., Monday, June 16
Mexico vs. Brazil: Noon, Tuesday, June 17
U.S. vs. Portugal: 3 p.m., Sunday, June 22
US vs. Germany: 9 a.m., Thursday, June 26
Semi Finals: 1 p.m., Wednesday, July 9
Finals: Noon, Sunday, July 13

More information about the events, including screening times, can be found at http://www.worldcupsf.com

About America SCORES Bay Area
America SCORES Bay Area inspires urban youth to lead healthy lives, be engaged students, and have the confidence and character to make a difference in the world.  America SCORES provides children with experiences to develop their own voice through poetry and creative expression, promotes teamwork and physical activity through soccer, and supports leadership development through team-based service-learning projects. For more information, please visit www.AmericaScoresBayArea.org.

SOURCE America SCORES Bay Area