Off to a 4-0-0 start and boasting the best team in MLS, the Galaxy have plenty to think about in the coming weeks.
But the club hasn't forgotten about its community. LA's likely World Cup-bound star Landon Donovan will be one of four players present at a local elementary school to help out with Earth Day festivities on Thursday.
Compton's Stephen C. Foster Elementary School beat out other area elementary schools and will host a quartet of Galaxy players this week.
The Galaxy won't make a token appearance either as four the club's most important players will be on hand for the ceremony. Donovan will be joined by MLS leading scorer Edson Buddle, 2009 Rookie of the Year Omar Gonzalez and starting left back Todd Dunivant, and the Galaxy stars will help build a reading garden at the school.
After Thursday's training session, the players will ditch their soccer uniforms for some shovels and rakes to help build the garden.
Foster Elementary School could use the reading garden to continue their steady educational growth. In 2006, the school's Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) were insufficient due to the school's failure to test "a significant portion of students who were not exempt from testing," according to the California Department of Education. Since then, the school has exceeded targets set by the state with regards to test scores each school year.
The reading garden was part of a collaborative effort by the Los Angeles Galaxy Foundation, the Home Depot Center Charitable Foundation and The Home Depot.
“The Home Depot recognizes and embraces a strong commitment to invest in children,” Community Affairs Manager of The Home Depot Sherry Caraway said in a statement. “Building this reading garden is one way we are delivering on that promise, working to help more children grow and learn together in a safe, healthy environment.”
Galaxy players will try and use the benefits from their goodwill outing to generate some energy ahead of Saturday’s match in Kansas City. The Wizards lost a heartbreaking match at Seattle, losing 1-0 on a stoppage-time goal by the Sounders.
