Kanoa FC shares holiday spirit to CHC patients

Kanoa Football Club’s Keziah Manabat hands a gift to a patient during the group’s visit at the Commonwealth Health Center’s Dialysis Center last Saturday. (Contributed Photo)

Kanoa Football Club celebrated a very successful 2019 season by sharing gifts to patients at the Commonwealth Health Center’s Dialysis Center last Saturday.

Members and officials of the club’s boys U15 and U18 teams and girls U16 squads sang Christmas carols and then distributed gift packages to patients and the center’s staff nurses.

Northern Mariana Islands Football Association president Jerry Tan joined the Kanoa FC in their visit at the dialysis center and praised the players for stepping up not only on the field, but off the pitch as well.

Kanoa Football Club president Merlie Tolentino, on the other hand, said the visit and gift giving to the dialysis center’s patients is the group’s way of saying thank you for a very fruitful season and encouraging their players, especially the young ones, to reach out to people who need help and support.

Tolentino added that the visit and Christmas caroling at the dialysis center is consistent with Asian Football Confederation Social Responsibility Committee’s aspiration to give back to the community. The Kanoa FC president is a member of the AFC Social Responsibility Committee.

AFC president Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, during the meeting of the committee earlier this year, emphasized that football can not only be a sport, but also a force to bring good and hope to so many people.

“Singing Christmas carols for the people in the dialysis center was a new experience for us, soccer players. It definitely put us on an emotional roller coaster. Some of us even shed tears at the end,” said Ericka Santiago, a member of Kanoa’s girls U16 team.

The club was the first group to visit, sing, and personally hand gifts to patients at the facility this holiday season.

“Seeing their smiles when we sang and gave them the gifts was so heartwarming. This encounter we had with the patients made us grateful that we are all able to enjoy the holidays in our own homes and with our families,” Santiago said.

One patient commented they looked forward to visitors at the center, especially at this time of the year. He added that he was glad to see young people taking time to visit them and he was surprised to even receive gifts from the players.

Meanwhile, Kanoa FC will also visit and sing Christmas carols at the Man’amko Center this Friday at 10am.