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<\/p>\n\u201cI guess it sounds unbelievable, but thing is \u2013 every time they show up in our stands, the sun follows. Even when the matchday forecast promised clouds\u2026,\u201d says Ivan Goncearuc, Community Development Officer (CDOs) at Moldovan football club Dacia Buiucani. These special harbingers of light are a group of kids with Down\u2019s syndrome, who formed a truly special bond with the club. Earlier this year, one of these kids \u2013 a 6-year-old girl named Marusika – became the club\u2019s only official ambassador. These are just some of the many things that can be said about the club, because when it comes to caring about its community, Dacia Buicani stands in a league of its own. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe that football should be used as a force for good and we\u2019re really focused on making a difference, even if our means are sometimes modest,\u201d continues Ivan. Dacia Buiucani may not be the biggest, or the most well-funded club in Moldovan football, but it is the only club that has a corporate social responsibility strategy. What makes Dacia Biucani stand out in football terms is the fact that the club is exclusively focused on developing homegrown Moldovan talent. The club owns the country\u2019s biggest football academy and its senior team \u2013 currently playing in Moldovan Super League \u2013 is made up almost exclusively of its academy graduates. The largest share of the club\u2019s fansbase are families of its current and former players.<\/p>\n
In August 2021, Dacia Buiucani joined the Community Development Officer project launched by the Football Association of Moldova in partnership with UEFA. In February 2022, Dacia Buiucani began collaborating with the Sunshine Association, a local charity working with kids with Down\u2019s syndrome. Sunshine is the biggest and most active organization of its kind that counts over 250 kids as its wards. Every month, the club organizes events for the Sunshine kids.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe try to organize football classes at least once a month,\u201d explains Ivan Goncearuc. \u201cThen, we regularly organize small \u201cfestival-style\u201d events for these kids. Our players and coaches are always involved in the organizational process. We want to give these kids an opportunity to socialize with their peers, to make them feel welcome in our community and to show our young players that kids from Sunshine are just like them. Unfortunately, kids with Down\u2019s syndrome have traditionally been marginalized in our society. So we\u2019re using football as a platform to promote kindness and tolerance, we want to raise awareness about the issues these kids and their families are facing and potential solutions that can be created in our society.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 2022, several of the club\u2019s matches opened with a symbolic first kick by kids with Down\u2019s syndrome. One of these kids was Marusika, who just turned 6. The girl became the club\u2019s first and only ambassador, and one of her fan drawings was turned into the first ever NFT in the history of Moldovan football.<\/p>\n
What was the fan\u2019s reaction to the announcement? \u201cAbsolutely spectacular,\u201d says Ivan. \u201cThe fans love her. She attends all of our events. During one of our last games, she would walk along the rows, high-five all of our fans and simply stare intently at the ones who were not cheering loudly enough. Her enthusiasm is impossible to resist\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
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In October \u2013 the Down\u2019s syndrome awareness month – Dacia Buiucani teamed-up with Sunshine to organize a charity art exhibition. All of the proceeds from the sale of football-themed drawings created by the kids went to fund therapy sessions for the kids. The club\u2019s community also recently joined forces to help a young mother of newborn twins with Down\u2019s syndrome who lives in one of the impoverished rural regions of Moldova.<\/p>\n
Since the beginning of collaboration, the membership of the Sunshine Association began to grow. Numerous families have contacted the club directly and asked to join upcoming events. Other parents have called to ask for advice or moral support\u2026 Sunshine kids are present at almost every home game of the club, and when they aren\u2019t \u2013 the club shares their messages of support on its official Facebook page using a hastag #AiNostrii, which in Romanian means #Ours.<\/p>\n
The club\u2019s social work is not limited to helping kids with Down\u2019s syndrome. Dacia Buiucani has been actively collaborating with community centers helping children from underprivileged backgrounds. One of Dacia Buicani\u2019s partners is an organization called EcoRazeni, an organization helping vulnerable and disabled youth to find employment and get a firm footing in society.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe genuinely believe that education can transform lives. Of course, we try to help by organizing donations, but we also try to organize educational events for these kids to teach them something useful \u2013 things like importance of a healthy lifestyle, personal branding or the importance of knowing and defending your rights\u2026We also give kids a platform to display their talents. Many of the kids we have met at community centers are really talented, we\u2019ve met kids who are excellent singers or dancers and we give these kids a chance to showcase their talents during half-time shows at our games or other events that our club organizes.\u201d <\/p>\n
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Social good isn’t the only area where Dacia Buiucani is setting the bar for other clubs. The club is focused on developing its environmental sustainability capacities. It became the first Moldovan club to make a full move to LED lighting on all of its facilities. The club became the first to install an electric vehicle charging station at its home arena. It\u2019s making the move to switch all of its artificial pitch surfaces from rubber to sand filling and developing a plan to install solar panels that could eventually cover the electricity needs of its entire sports complex.<\/p>\n
Dacia is a rare gem in the world of football, a club that not only cares for the beautiful game, but about making the world around it a much better place. <\/p>\n
Photo credit: Dacia Buiucani <\/p>\n
Author: Natalia Donets <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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