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Survivor Winner Ethan Zohn Uses A Little Soccer and A Lot of Heart

Ethan Zohn’s life has come full circle.

In 2001, the professional soccer player and Massachusetts native left Africa with $1 million and international notoriety after winning the CBS hit game show Survivor Africa.

Fast-forward seven years and Zohn is back in Africa using the fame he gained on the show to help the continent that facilitated his victory. “When I was over there it was really heart-breaking to see what those kids were going through with the AIDS epidemic,” says Zohn. “I felt like I needed to do something to help.”

This desire led to the 35-year-old to help start Grass Roots Soccer, an organization that had Zohn volunteering in Africa. “We work with children in 15 different countries to teach them about smart life choices and responsibility,” says Zohn. “We use soccer as a way to relate to them and they really seem to like it.”

So far Grass Roots Soccer has graduated over 270,000 kids and aims to reach one million children by 2012 when the World Cup comes to South Africa. “Education is crucial,” says Zohn. “And a lot of these kids don’t have anyone looking out for them.”

Recently Zohn has returned home to raise awareness of the problems in Africa. “I started a campaign on the East Coast dribbling a soccer ball from Boston to Washington to get attention for the cause and get the soccer world behind it,” says Zohn.

So far his 550-mile journey is garnering both attention and accolades from thousands of people who donate money to the organization thanks to Zohn’s dedication and unique crusade. “Sometimes people pull over on the side of the road and give cash on the spot,” says Zohn. “Other times they just want to talk and learn more about the problems in Africa.”

Zohn’s journey is set to symbolically conclude on World AIDS Day (December 1, 2008) in the nation’s capital with Zohn donating all of his profits to assist progress in Africa. “It’s going to be a great ending,” he says. “The whole point of this is to make a difference and we’re going to be able to do that with the money we’re raising.

To get behind Ethan Zohn and Grass Roots Soccer shoot on over to www.grassrootsoccer.org

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