It was a thrilling afternoon of equestrian polo as the Orange team dominated the inaugural Joe Sang Foundation polo event at the Seneca Polo Club in Poolesville, Maryland.
The charity event featured arena polo pitting the Blue against the Orange team, the latter running riot with a 10 – 4 to bag the honors. Both teams received gift hampers courtesy of local distillery – Song Dog – who were the main event sponsors.
Themed as “An Afternoon to Remember,” the gathering blended sport, culture, and philanthropy to create a fun environment for meaningful charitable work.
Proceeds from the event that attracted dozens of equestrian polo enthusiasts from Poolesville and the surrounding areas will go towards supporting youth empowerment activities of the Joe Sang Foundation.
“What we wanted was to really introduce the Joe Sang Foundation and the work they do both here [in the US] and also in Kenya,” said US Chapter Executive Director Butch Zachrel.
“It is an outreach for future fundraising events […] by the donations that we can get, the money we raise from ticket sales, from our sponsors, from our raffles and all the events that we are going to be doing next year.”
New dimensions
US Chapter chairman Benson Mungai said the event was aimed at “consolidating polo and golf” passion to support charity work in Kenya.
“Trying to empower kids in Kenya. Educate kids and build schools and everything that the Joe Sang Foundation is trying to do,” Mungai said, pointing to a December 6 golf event to be held in Limuru.
“To facilitate that is something that I personally feel very strongly about. So this is the first step and going into next year our goal is to have more people and raise enough funds to make a difference.”
Ben Koech, also a member of the Joe Sang Foundation board explained that the goal is to “bring in a news dimension” of using golf and polo to impact community initiatives.
“We are using golf as a means to introduce these children to other things. Polo is another sport to complement what golf is providing so we can reach more children (youth) and to bring in more sponsors to support what we are doing,” explains Koech.
“[The idea is] to help them discover new opportunities that will open up better doors from where they are to the future.”
Mentorship to education
The December 6th event at the Limuru Golf and Country Club, bringing together children and youth from the local children’s home alongside Mathare Children’s Home among others. The foundation donates golf balls and other gear to the youth who then undergo mentorship towards successful careers and education pathway.
“Ninety (90) percent of our donations start here (in the US). This is where we get all the support, the equipment, shipping costs and all the equipment that we will be disrtibuting in December starts here.
“These are the people that make it happen and we are very thrilled that we are continuing to expand in our outreach for the things that we bring in December.”
Liz Calvey, Google’s Human Rights and Responsible Supply Chain Lead, participated in the event leading the Blue team and even though she was on the losing end of the game, she was thrilled to have been involved.
“Being here today brought out two passions in me – Polo and Kenya,” she explained that her love for Kenya comes from her time working at the United Nations in Nairobi.
“I wanted to come out and support the event by playing and bring something I am passionate about to new audience.
“Anything that is going to help the people in Kenya, I want to be part of it.”
Song Dog, a local distillery in Montgomery County, Maryland, were the main event sponsors and they displayed their local brands which were available for tasting. Another important feature was gourmet food truck on site that served hot meals and snacks for the attendees.
