Help Jorge Make It To Italy!

This March, Jorge Ruiz, a seventh grader at Memphis Rise Academy, a public, open-enrollment charter school in Memphis, Tennessee, will get the chance of a lifetime to showcase his skill and ability as a member of the Juventus USA Travel Program in Italy. Jorge continually impresses teachers and classmates beyond belief in the classroom and on the soccer field. At school, Jorge demands excellence from himself academically while simultaneously showing kindness to each of his classmates. On the soccer field, Jorge’s versatility and skill level surpass most athletes his age. Two generous donors funded an essay competition for our school's soccer team this past spring. The essay winners attended Juventus USA’s soccer camp in Memphis this past summer. Jorge’s essay was selected. He wowed the Juventus USA staff at camp in Memphis this past summer, and he earned an invitation to travel to Italy in March 2023. This camp is every young soccer player's dream. Jorge will get to train under some of the top coaches in the world, watch matches for two of Italy's top clubs, and experience the culture of Italy. The total cost of the experience will be about $4,500 for Jorge to attend. I struggle to think of a young man more deserving of such an experience. I hope you will contribute whatever you can to help Jorge travel to Italy this March. If you want to know more, check out Jorge’s full story below!

Standing about 5 feet tall, with his hair making up about a third of that, Jorge Ruiz is a force with which to be reckoned. This March, Jorge will get the chance to showcase his skill and ability as a member of the Juventus USA Travel Program in Italy.

I first met Jorge on August 9, 2021, my first day as a sixth-grade math teacher at Memphis Rise Academy. Upon first impression, Jorge struck me as a quiet, calm young person, yet he was always willing to respond to any question asked in class.

As I got to know Jorge a bit better over the first few weeks of school, I very quickly learned four things about him: he was brilliant, Jorge was kind to everyone he encountered, Jorge wasn’t nearly as quiet as I thought he was, and he loved soccer.

Over the 2021-2022 school year, Jorge continually excelled in the classroom. By the end of the year, our teaching team was in awe of his willingness to answer challenging questions in class and demonstrate repeated concept mastery day after day. Even more impressive was that no matter who Jorge was sitting next to in the classroom, he showed the same kindness and genuineness to every student with which he interacted. As we transitioned into the second half of the school year, Jorge came out of his shell and made me frequently laugh during the school day. Then soccer season came.

At our school, soccer is our biggest sport. About 50 students tried out to join our middle school soccer team this past spring. Only 23 ultimately made the team. Jorge was one of those 23. He impressed me just as much on the soccer field as he did in the classroom. His skill was astonishing for someone his age, and his ability to read the game was mind-boggling.

We asked a lot of Jorge, who frequently was matched up against eighth graders that were often double his size. No matter the role I asked him to step into on the soccer field, he continued to excel while showing immense versatility.

Jorge's classroom performance and on-field work ethic prompted me to nominate him as the Shelby County Student-Athlete of the Month for March 2022. Shelby County is one of the largest school districts in America, with over 100,000 students in PreK-twelfth grade and over 80 middle schools. I assumed that the probability of selection was pretty low. Plus, he was only in sixth grade, but I thought his dedication in the classroom and capabilities on the soccer field made him a worthy nominee.

A few days later, we were informed he was selected as the Shelby County Student-Athlete of the Month for March of 2022.

As soccer season went on, we continued to call on Jorge, and he continued to deliver. On April 22, 2022, our team advanced to the Shelby County Championship, our school’s first appearance across all sports.

Ultimately, we called on him to take one of our five penalty kicks when the game remained tied after the conclusion of regulation and overtime. We ultimately fell by one goal in kicks from the mark. Regardless, I was beyond impressed by the hard work and dedication this group of boys showed over the spring of 2022.

Shortly after our season's conclusion, we discovered that Juventus USA was holding a soccer camp in Memphis. Through the generosity of two outside donors, we held an essay competition, and the winners received the opportunity to attend the camp in Memphis free of cost. Jorge was one of the essay winners.

We were informed that top performers at the camp would be selected by Juventus USA as a member of the Juventus USA Travel Program to travel to Italy in March of 2022. We did not hear anything on the final day of camp. Therefore, we assumed that Jorge was most likely not selected.

Then September 9, 2022 came. I received an email informing me that Jorge was in fact selected to attend as a member of the Juventus USA Travel Program.

This camp is every young soccer player's dream. Jorge will get to train under some of the top coaches in the world, watch matches for two of Italy's top clubs, and experience the culture of Italy.

After meeting with his parents, Jorge has decided to attend, and he is elated!

As one would imagine, this invaluable experience comes at a cost. This is what brought me to establish this GoFundMe. I have never made a GoFundMe, but after learning that Jorge had been selected for this opportunity, I wanted to do everything possible to make this opportunity a reality for this young man.

The cost of the experience and the flight will be about $4,500 for Jorge to attend.

I struggle to think of a young man more deserving of such an experience. I am collecting these funds, which will be given to his family. I hope you will contribute whatever you can to help Jorge travel to Italy this March.