Taylor Graham, Defender for the Sounders FC, exemplifies the values and virtues of the Sounders FC organization. He is an excellent teammate and more importantly, he gives back to the Seattle community.

Taylor is a "regular" at community charity and fundraising events. He has made appearances to support Seattle Scores, Austin Foundation, United Way of King County, Children's Hospital, Special Olympics of Washington, Washington Middle School, Komen Race for the Cure, Puget Sound Blood Center, and the Young President's Association.

Taylor's one-on-one and thoughtful approach to service has left a lasting impression on all those he meets. He has also kept in touch with Kaitlin, a cancer patient he met at Children's on June 18. Kaitlin was invited to attend a Sounders training session at Qwest Field and Taylor introduced her to the team and made sure she had a soccer ball personally signed by each of his teammates. He has continued to keep in touch with her and even gave her his personal email address.

Taylor speaks fluent Spanish and French and serves as an interpreter for international players on the team when needed. He also shares his experiences with fans in a blog on www.soundersfc.com.

Jesse Marsch, Midfielder and Captain for Chivas USA, was a spokesperson for the club in the 'Celebrate Hope' campaign, a partnership between Chivas USA and City of Hope, a leading research, treatment and education center for cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening diseases. Marsch visited the City of Hope facilities and recorded a public service announcement as part of the program, which aims to increase awareness about diabetes prevention and treatment. The MLS Original midfielder also visited local schools for different purposes, helping encourage participation in after-school activities in a partnership with Team Prime Time, and also encouraging student activity in the emergency preparedness program 'Just Be Ready: Prepare Together'. Marsch, who has three children of his own, was also active with youth soccer, taking part in a 'Chivas at the Park' youth clinic, as well as making appearances at AYSO events in Southern California.

Stuart Holden, midfielder for the Houston Dynamo is one of the most exciting young players in MLS. Some of Holden's greatest accomplishments have been off the field. He was presented with the 2008 U.S. Soccer Foundation Dynamo Humanitarian of the Year award for his community efforts. He is very active in his home city of Houston and frequently stops by the Texas Children's Hospital, visiting children who are suffering from a variety of illnesses, including cancer. He takes the joy of soccer to each patient and encourages his fellow teammates to join him.

Holden is also a strong supporter of Nick's Team, a nonprofit devoted to raising money for childhood cancer research. In 2007, he made local news when he gave his 2007 MLS Cup Championship medal to a local child fighting cancer. He also regularly donates online auction items to support Dynamo Charities.

Dwayne De Rosario, midfielder for Toronto FC is passionate about malaria prevention. In 2007 Dwayne De Rosario, along with his wife, made a trip to Malawi Africa. What began as an observation expedition, resulted in first-hand exposure to the devastating effects of malaria. The De Rosarios got involved with Nothing But Nets right away. Nothing But Nets is a grassroots initiative dedicated to distributing life-saving bed nets throughout Africa to limit the spread of malaria carried by mosquitoes. Since 2007 De Rosario, along with MLS W.O.R.K.S., has hosted a variety of soccer clinics, demonstrations and fundraising parties to raise money to benefit Nothing But Nets and remains an ambassador for the cause.

Seth Stammler, midfielder for the New York Red Bulls, founded the Sporting Chance Foundation in 2007.

Sporting Chance Foundation was founded in 2007 by Seth Stammler of the New York Red Bulls.

Seth was inspired to start Sporting Chance Foundation after a philanthropic trip to Haiti in November of 2006, where he witnessed the unfortunate environment that is Haiti today. While in Haiti with Wyclef Jean and former temmates, Jozy Altidore and Jerrod Laventure, the group took part in a number of soccer clinics with under-privileged youths and children from a local orphanage. In addition, they conducted a number of clothing distributions.

After witnessing the struggle for basic necessities, Seth decided to make one of the primary initiatives of Sporting Chance Foundation to increase accessibility to useable water. Both the fully capable, as well as the crippled have to walk up to 15 miles to find clean, useable water for their families. By spreading out these sources of water, both the demand as well as the accessibility of water will dramatically improve. Using trusted sources, Sporting Chance is constructing wells in the most accessible locations throughout Haiti. Once completed, these wells will be maintained and cared for by the individuals who use them.

With each well providing clean water to nearly 10,000 people, Sporting Chance is certain it can make an immediate impact by drastically reducing water-borne illnesses, the leading cause of death today. .

Along with witnessing the struggle for everyday necessities like water, Seth was able to work with and interact with the Haitian youth. Seth experienced first hand, the need for better educational resources. Education is a powerful tool in Haiti, enabling disadvantaged youths to turn their lives around and one day become community leaders. As gangs in Haiti provide more resistance, and gain a stronger hold on the community, children need a better option, and Sporting Chance believes education is their option. Conversely to the U.S. where children often dread school on a daily basis, the Haitian youth actually look forward to school because they have an appreciation for the opportunity that education will provide them in the future.

The Sporting Chance Foundation has provided 60 scholarships for the 2008-2009 school year in Haiti, and are finishing their first community water well this September which will provide clean water to 9,000 Haitians.

Not only does Seth have his own foundation but he is always first to lend a hand to the team's philanthropic efforts. He was named the Red Bulls Humanitarian of the year in 2007 and makes regular visits to local charities. Last year he was named a "Shining Star" from the Starlight Children's Foundation which honored six athletes for their work in the community.

To learn more about the Sporting Chance Foundation, please visit www.sportingchancefoundation.org

Jimmy Conrad, defender for the Kansas City Wizards, has made an incredible impact on his local community.

Jimmy is the local spokesperson for the Child Protection Center, a children's center providing forensic interviews and evaluations to children who are alleged victims of sexual and physical abuse in Jackson and Cass counties in Missouri. He participates in the center's Kick-off Fundraiser, speaks at events and brings a "celebrity" group to golf in their Fore-man Scramble Golf Tournament.

On August 15th, Jimmy partnered with Autism Speaks to a hold a kick-off event for the Walk for Autism. He spoke at the event and gave special instruction to participating children in the Wizard's soccer clinic. Jimmy supports the cause throughout the year at various events and speaking engagements.

Jimmy is both a very dynamic player on and off the field. Tune in as he hosts The Jimmy Conrad Show, presented by Budweiser, on Sports Radio 810 WHB on Wednesday, 7-8 p.m. CT and simulcast online at kcwizards.com.

Brad Davis, Midfielder for the Houston Dynamo, has shown great leadership in community outreach efforts in the Houston area. During the Dynamo's Military Appreciation/Hometown Heroes Night on May 30, 2009, Davis launched a group called Brad's Brigade to honor members of the armed forces.

Brad has always had a passion for the military and supported more quietly, but on Military Appreciation Night he invited a whole group of members of the military and provided free tickets and t-shirts. As part of Brad's initiative for the 2009 season, the first 100 military members that request tickets will receive complimentary tickets to an upcoming Houston Dynamo game. For $20, fans are able to personally send a member of the military to the game and will receive a free t-shirt and get to meet Brad after the game.

For more information on Brad's Brigade please visit HoustonDynamo.com/brigade.

Along with his on-field credentials and multiple caps with the U.S. National Team, Eddie brings an impressive off-the-field passion for community service to the Columbus area.

He has participated in the Columbus Crew's School Assembly program, speaking to hundreds of elementary-age children about the importance of making healthy choices, staying in school and displaying good character. He has also visited patients at Nationwide Children's Hospital on numerous occasions, bringing a smile to the faces of youngsters facing serious medical conditions.

In addition, Eddie has volunteered to assist with Habitat for Humanity building projects in Columbus for the past two seasons. Because of efforts like his, four Columbus families now have houses to call their own for the very first time.

As an instrumental part of the Crew's clean-up efforts with Keep Columbus Beautiful and the United Way, Eddie and several teammates volunteered to pick up litter in and around Driving Park Recreation Center on Community Care Day. This was an especially challenging task since an earlier windstorm brought down thousands of branches and debris onto the area.

Eddie not only gives of his time, he has also been a generous supporter of worthy causes in the area. He was the first to donate for the St. Stephen's House Community Food and Toy Drive, an effort to help needy community residents during the holiday season. In addition, Eddie donated one of his U.S. National Team jerseys to the Crew Soccer Foundation's sports memorabilia fundraising auction to assist in funding programming for youth in Central Ohio.

Eric Avila, midfielder for FC Dallas, has shown great initiative and leadership in the community. From the Earth Day Movie Premiere to the Kicks for Kids Easter Egg Hunt at the Dallas Zoo, along with the 2009 Community Clinic Series, Eric has played a major role in making the FC Dallas Foundation programs a success.

Eric went above and beyond his duties as an MLS player when he trained to become a volunteer at the Dallas Zoo. He is incredibly passionate about animals and feels that it is important for children to learn about how to take care of our environment. At our annual Kicks for Kids Easter Egg Hunt, Eric brought out a few of the zoo animals to do a lesson on animal education. This was such a memorable experience for so many of the children. Eric has truly proven himself as a positive role model for the youth in our community and has made a tremendous effort to reach out to them in any way he can.

Just recently, you may have noticed he appears a bit more aerodynamic - that's because Clark volunteered to shave his head for the St. Baldrick's Foundation, to help raise money to fight children's cancer.

Clark has also been helping run youth soccer clinics with the Rapids this month, including skills sessions with the US Soccer Foundation Passback Tour, Denver SCORES, and the Rapids Academy.

He has also been a permanent fixture on some of the club's off-the pitch events, including Rapids season ticket holder influencer parties and making a special appearance at the Mile High Dreams Gala fundraiser.

Clark, who is a native of Colorado, has dedicated numerous hours to our local community and is extremely involved and focused on spending time with children here in his home state, spreading the values of the club and promoting the game whenever he has spare time off the pitch.

Shea Salinas, midfielder for the San Jose Earthquakes, has been a big part of the Earthquakes community outreach programs since his addition to the team. This year Salinas has done a number of appearances including an Amway Global Kicks for Kids Program visit, Faith Night and Copa Piramide. He also interacted with the Vallejo Youth Soccer League when they visited the Earthquakes practice.

With Amway Global Kicks for Kids, Salinas went to Mt. Pleasant High School in San Jose and spoke to over 150 students about living a healthy lifestyle and staying in school. At Faith Night, after the March 28 game against Houston, Salina spoke to over 40 fans and a few people from KFAX, a Christian Radio Station, about his faith. At the Copa Piramide appearance he interacted with local Hispanic soccer teams and signed autographs for the soccer players in attendance.

When the Vallejo Youth Soccer League came out to watch an Earthquakes practice, Salinas was one of the players that the children seemed to gravitate towards. He chatted with them about the previous night's World Cup Qualifying matches, signed autographs and answered questions for the kids, aged 10-12.

Salinas is always willing to help out in the community and has done a great job doing so in his young career.

Bakary Soumare, defender for the Chicago Fire, is always willing to go above and beyond for a good cause. Soumare is a strong and passionate supporter of UNICEF and Nothing But Nets. This season, Soumare has been extremely active in the Chicago Fire's Nothing But Nets campaign, urging Fire fans to donate funds during the month-long four-team fundraising challenge which benefited the Nothing But Nets campaign. In addition to his work with Nothing But Nets, Soumare also lent his voice to a Public Service Announcement that encourages fans in the community to take part in a LifeSource bone marrow and blood drive to be held at TOYOTA PARK. LifeSource is the largest blood center in Illinois and distributes a half-million blood products annually to approximately 60 area hospitals in meeting the need for patient transfusion therapy. Soumare is also a strong supporter of the Chicago Fire Foundation, the charitable arm of the Chicago Fire. With Soumare's help, the Chicago Fire Foundation is able to support its mission of enriching the quality of life of the Chicagoland community, particularly its youth in the areas of health and wellness, education and the environment.

Devon McTavish, defender for D.C. United, was diagnosed with Crohn's disease in high school. Eight years later, McTavish still lives with Crohn's but it hasn't stopped him from becoming an established member of both D.C. United and the greater D.C. community. McTavish's own plight with the disease has given him added impetus to involve himself with various charitable organizations and initiatives. In the past two years, McTavish has been involved with Patient Services Incorporated (PSI), the Crohn's Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA) and has helped raise money and awareness about soccer goalpost safety following the tragic death of a young soccer player who hailed from his hometown of Winchester, Virginia.

Ralston is generous in giving time to charitable children's health programs, especially philanthropic soccer clinics. In the off-season, he attended a sports celeb studded charity event put on by former Patriots offensive lineman Joe Andruzzi and bought a miniature toy four-wheeler for one of the patients in attendance.