Nick's Wall - Leave a Message
Guest's Name: Mitch GloverMessage:
Miss you nicky. You'll always be on my mind bro, stay safe and ill see you soon. love you cuz
Guest's Name: Chris
Message:
Thank you. I saw this story and organization and was truly touched. Thank you to the family for being so kind to me and the globe. You have changed the life of many Nick and touched their hearts. You give hope to children around the world and really change lives for the better. May your memory be eternal
Guest's Name: Marvin portillo
Message:
I just saw nick being added to the chanel 11 wall. My prayers will be with Nick and family..
Guest's Name: A
Message:
Wow. Thank you, Nick, for your bravery, your courage and for the love you had in your heart. This is what makes us Americans. I am so proud to be an American because of people like you. Prayers for his family. RIP.
Guest's Name: FabiDosSantos
Message:
Nick Madaras may you rest in peace. You will be missed. You are my idol. Iraq is very happy with you.
Guest's Name: iraqi
Message:
i want to thanks that great person and i want to say to his familay god he will please him because of his brave with us army> know iraqi want to thanks nick . freedom don t came free and usa army they gives freedom to iraq thank so much
Guest's Name: Dave
Message:
I never had the pleasure to know Nick personally, but I am friends with one of Nick's best friends with whom he served in Iraq. I have learned from many stories that Nick was a great soldier, a great person and most of all, a great friend.
Guest's Name: Al Kennedy
Message:
Thank you for your commitment, service, and sacrifice. Committed young men like yourself make this country as GREAT as it is. The example you set on and off the athletic field serves as a model for the youth of this country.
God Bless You. I wish you Fair Winds and Following Seas!
Guest's Name: v
Message:
Nick is a wonderful person
he was realy brave
he cares about other people
thank you nick!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
your #1
Guest's Name: Antoine LaChapelle
Message:
you rock man oorha
Guest's Name: victoria rebeor
Message:
nick truly was a great unselfish person it was wonderful of him to want to donate soccer balls.
NICK MADARAS IS AWESOME!!!!!!! HE IS A PERSON TO LOOK UP TO!!!!!!!!
Guest's Name: lola mniture
Message:
nick is a great person
Guest's Name: John martorella
Message:
nick you are awsome
Guest's Name: dave
Message:
hi man you rock
Guest's Name: Steven
Message:
I had the oppurtunity to be part of your foundation in my school we reached the goal of sending 1000 soccer balls. And in this day i would like to thank you for your service to our nation..YOU WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN IN OUT HEARTS AND OUR MINDS YOU WILL STAY FOR EVER.
I had the chance to get to know Mrs.Maderas and Mr.Maderas and we share your dream of bringing a game that is pure to a country were peace needs to settle.
THANK YOU NICK VERY MUCH
Guest's Name: trevor
Message:
love you man, think about you all the time
Guest's Name: Jim Jeffery
Message:
I had the privledge of serving with the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Kirkuk, Iraq 12/07-12/08. During that tour, my second in Iraq, I was introduced to your wonderful mission of providing soccer balls to the kids, young & old, of Iraq by our mutual friend and fellow U.S. Navy veteran, Jack Burke.
As a member of the PRT, I was able to visit the villages "outside the wire" often and I can assure you that the soccer balls were put to very good use. Because of them, many doors were opened to us that may have otherwise remained closed as even the toughest muktars, shieks and village elders would smile when the kids were being cared for in this way.
Our young service men and women are the very best ambassadors the U.S. have to offer. Their genuine concern for the people of Iraq, especially the children, was obvious to all and is something all Americans should be extremely proud of, I know I am. Even in areas that were too dangerous for us to linger in, our brave soldiers would find a way to pass the balls out. The young turret gunners would keep a supply handy and toss them out to the kids as we sped past, usually accompanied by a thumbs-up, a big smile and a friendly wave. That's the way to win hearts and minds and there are none better at it than our dedicated and patriotic young men and women in the field.
So, in closing I want to thank you for making this possible and express my admiration to your family for turning your terrible loss and unimaginable grief into something so positive. May God Bless You and all those that have joined with you in this effort to spread goodwill throughout Iraq and the Middle East.
God Bless America!
Guest's Name: Scott Warman
Message:
I saw this story on Sportscenter and it moved me to tears. I thank you and your family for the sacrifice you have made so I can live in the greatest country in the world and raise my two daughters Ages 7 and 10. It is because of men of character like your son that we have the freedoms we enjoy each day. I cannot help but take up this cause. I once was a college soccer coach and now teach at a college. I am enlisting the donations of our students to take up this cause. I will contact other coaches to see if they will do the same. I am also contacting our recreation department to gather donations. I will look for soccer balls to donate each day, this will be my focus over the next year to remember your son...he is someone to be so proud of. The following if from William Faulkner accepting an award...
I feel that this award was not made to me as a man, but to my work--a life's work in the agony and sweat of the human spirit, not for glory and least of all for profit, but to create out of the materials of the human spirit something which did not exist before. So this award is only mine in trust. It will not be difficult to find a dedication for the money part of it commensurate with the purpose and significance of its origin. But I would like to do the same with the acclaim too, by using this moment as a pinnacle from which I might be listened to by the young men and women already dedicated to the same anguish and travail, among whom is already that one who will some day stand where I am standing.
Our tragedy today is a general and universal physical fear so long sustained by now that we can even bear it. There are no longer problems of the spirit. There is only one question: When will I be blown up? Because of this, the young man or woman writing today has forgotten the problems of the human heart in conflict with itself which alone can make good writing because only that is worth writing about, worth the agony and the sweat. He must learn them again. He must teach himself that the basest of all things is to be afraid: and, teaching himself that, forget it forever, leaving no room in his workshop for anything but the old verities and truths of the heart, the universal truths lacking which any story is ephemeral and doomed--love and honor and pity and pride and compassion and sacrifice. Until he does so, he labors under a curse. He writes not of love but of lust, of defeats in which nobody loses anything of value, and victories without hope and worst of all, without pity or compassion. His griefs grieve on no universal bones, leaving no scars. He writes not of the heart but of the glands.
Until he learns these things, he will write as though he stood among and watched the end of man. I decline to accept the end of man. It is easy enough to say that man is immortal because he will endure: that when the last ding-dong of doom has clanged and faded from the last worthless rock hanging tideless in the last red and dying evening, that even then there will still be one more sound: that of his puny inexhaustible voice, still talking. I refuse to accept this. I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance. The poet's, the writer's, duty is to write about these things. It is his privilege to help man endure by lifting his heart, by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past. The poet's voice need not merely be the record of man, it can be one of the props, the pillars to help him endure and prevail.
Nick seemed to have the soul of a poet. He has touched my heart and allowed me to again see the greatness in our society. He will previal and I honor him. Again I an indept to your family. May god bless each of you and memories be of fondness and love. He is a hero in my book!!
Guest's Name: katie hoffman
Message:
Once i saw this story on sports center i was deeply moved by it. I saw it and i thought of what a great conrofmation project it would be. I am planning on collecting soccer balls and donating them to kickfornick. I am so excited to be working on this. This is a great cause and more people should know about it. My prayers go to the Madaras family and friends. RIP Nick Madaras.
Guest's Name: Andrew Warburton
Message:
PFC N. Madaras,
Memorial Day 2009 brought with it the usual solemn feeling and peacefulness that only patriots know of. I was watching television and the usual loop of ESPN's Sportscenter and stopped when Nick's story was aired. I vaguely remember the first time NIck's story was run in 2008 and listened in on it this time around. I couldnt help but shed tears as I watched and listened to Nick's father speak of his son. I was touched by the stranger who started a philanthropy Nick's name. Many Americans tend to forget that our children, fathers, mothers, sons and daughters, uncles and aunts, girlfriends and boyfriends, colleagues and mentors, are in harms way everyday.
Nicks passion of a game that dominates the globe is the reason there are smiles on many Iraqi children. Even in the face of war, in a country that has seen fighting for the majority of the last 3 decades, there is hope. I hope the Kick for Nick foundation continues in helping in the restructuring of a wartorn nation.
Thank you for your service and the sacrifice made in the defense of our great nation.
Sincerely
Tech Sergeant Andrew Warburton
180th Fighter Wing, Swanton OH, Ohio Air National Guard
Guest's Name: devon
Message:
R.i.P. PFC NiCK MADARAS
Guest's Name: Leon & Sonya Bergeron
Message:
We just went buy 8 balls and 4 pumps,will be sending them today!Thank you PFC Nick Madaras for serving our country and its people,but most of all for being a friend to the kids of iraq.These soccer balls may prevent some of these kids from being recruited by the evil forces of the al-qaeda and taliban,you show beauty in the ugly of war.Remember Nick, when you look down and see these kids playing soccer that your sacrifice and dreams made this happen.Without you,there would have been no kicks for Nick,again thank you.
Guest's Name: Kristen Collins
Message:
I am a huge soccer fan and avid sportcenter viewer. I was deeply moved by the entire story. I have tons and tons of soccer balls that I have collected over the course of the 17 years of playing soccer. I hope to send those. This whole story just shows the amazement of the human spirit.
Guest's Name: Samuel Verghese
Message:
I must admit I had seen the original story run on ESPN Outside the Lines & no doubt was moved then as I am now. However, today May 25th I felt compelled to donate for this cause. What i want to note & make clear is we need to be thankful each day & feel compelled to show our appreciation for these young men & women who sacrifice so much & in Nick's case the ultimate one EVERYDAY, not just Memorial Day. As a life-long soccer player I have to smile when I think of the good that came out of all this & what the end outcome is. Kid's having fun playing soccer, futbol, or whatever you call it. My prayers are ever with Nick's family & all those who lost an integral part of their lives for the life we so love here.
Guest's Name: Larry Ruggiero
Message:
I just saw this story on ESPN. What a touching segment. On this Memorial Day, I wanted to say thank you Nick for your service and protecting our great country. Thank you, Madaras Family for raising such a stand up man and soldier. There needs to be more people in this world like Nick Madaras.. May God Bless....
Guest's Name: Samantha Stewart
Message:
Amazing message Nick and your family is sending to everyone. God Bless our service men and women.
Guest's Name: Steven Hart
Message:
This is a powerful story and I am going to try and collect balls at my school next year. nick has a truly amazing story and his wish is being granted more and more every day.
Guest's Name: Andrew
Message:
I just saw Nick's story on ESPN again. What an amazing story and a great cause. God bless!
Guest's Name: keivan s miller
Message:
I just saw the story on espn and what a great story,god bless you nick you made a ex soccer player choked up. Soccer is a great team sport. To Mr. and Mrs. Madaras you raised a great son god bless you.
Guest's Name: Taylor
Message:
I am so sorry to hear about your loss. I too just came home from Iraq not to long ago. I know he did everything the best he could and I know this is hard on your family just know that everyone else is grieving the loss of your son and a brother.
Guest's Name: amy
Message:
i saw the story about nick just a few minutes ago while sitting at the liberty center on my military base i think that you guys are doing a great thing for the kids in iraq and for your son and to nicks parents if i ever deploy i will think of nick while i am over there i will be in the military for three years and love ever second of it and love my job
Guest's Name: tommy
Message:
you are doing a very good thing by doing this
Guest's Name: Diaz
Message:
To: PFC Nick, i stand up and salute such a brave soldier. I have seen your story on ESPN and was touched to see how big of a heart you have. It's because people like you that make this country so special. To Nick's parents,my heart goes out to you and your entire family. May God continue to bless you and comfort you. As a soldier always know that we will always keep Nick's memory alive.
Guest's Name: Jim and Susan
Message:
God bless you and your family for your service to our country and for your loving support to the children of Iraq. You soccer balls bring many, many smiles.
Guest's Name: scott
Message:
Thanks to those serving in our military. Many thanks to their family and friends as well. Good work, Nick. Well done.
Guest's Name: Paris - Las Vegas
Message:
I saw the special on ESPN and was deeply touch by NIcks passion to make a difference. I am a life-long soccer player and I can can only hope that everyone donates something to keep his passion alive.
To Nicks Parents...I am very sorry for your loss and I hope the everyone embraces your sons dream to honor his memory!!!
Guest's Name: Aaron
Message:
Greatness personified. Those kids are so happy to receive soccer balls. That is an awesome story and I think getting out and playing sports is good for anyone especially kids going through tough times. Thank you Nick and thank you for that Korean War Vet who helped Nick realize his dreams. Today is veterans day and I choose to remember guys like Nick that make me be proud to be American:)
Guest's Name: Austin From Tulsa, OK
Message:
what an amazing story this is. I saw the special on ESPN today and just couldnt believe how amazing it was. How one person can make a difference. thank you Nick for serving. REST IN PEACE. I will be sending a soccer ball asap. again thank you.
P.S. I will post this on my myspace and hopefully others will follow kick for nick.
Guest's Name: HM2 Anderson
Message:
Thank you Nick. I am going to tell my family, friends and co-workers about Nick and the soccer ball campaign in his honor. Nick, you are an American hero. God is using your life to bless many others. Thank you Nick and God bless your family.
Guest's Name: Jason
Message:
When I saw this special on ESPN, I was deeply moved. Being a lifelong soccer player, the thought of sending soccer balls to Iraq never crossed my mind. The fact that Nick was so deeply involved by this deeply moved me to help and I have donated balls in his memory.
Thank you for your service Nick!
Guest's Name: E
Message:
Amazing story on espn. thanks for serving nick
Guest's Name: Frances
Message:
I can be free to do what I want thanks to those who have worked and sacrifice to maintain this way of life. My husband served 20 years in the USAF and I served 6 in the ANG. He was a peacekeeper in Bosnia.
Words can not express what I feel about your son's sacrifice. All I can say is Thank You. Thank You. Thank you.
Guest's Name: Thomas Ellis, HMCS/RET
Message:
your son gave his life but is legacy will live on , Being the dad of six kids, five of which have played soccer, it is the sport that crosses all nation and all children,
Nick will not beforgotton
Guest's Name: J~
Message:
Thanks for your time served in our military. You paid the ultimate price for your country. Even though you are gone your spirit will live on here and with the kids u help in Iraq forever! Thanks Nick.
Guest's Name: Sgt Jonathan Snyder
Message:
I was moved when I saw this operation. As a lifetime soccer player, youth coach and OIF Veteran, I identified deeply with this. I applaud your efforts and hope this continues for many years.
Semper Fidelis,
Sgt Jonathan Snyder
USMC
Guest's Name: Stryker Soldier
Message:
Thank you for helping us connect with the local population. The relationships that are started because of this program is paying many benefits.
Guest's Name: Becky
Message:
Great Idea! God Bless Nick and his wonderful Family<3
Guest's Name: SPC. HESS
Message:
I AM CURIOUS IF I CAN HELP TO DISTRIBUTE THE SOCCER BALLS THAT YOUR FAMILY HAS COLLECTED I AM A CIVIL AFFAIRS SOLDIER IN IRAQ AND I KNOW HOW MUCH SOMETHING AS SIMPLE AS A SOCCER BALL CAN BRIGHTEN THESE CHILDRENS LIVES. YOUR SON HAS A BIG HEART AND IM SURE HE ENJOYED BRINGING JOY INTO THESE LESS FORTUNATE CHILDRENS HEARTS. IF THERE IS ANY WAY I CAN BE INVOLVED AND HELP DISTRIBUTE THE SOCCER BALLS PLEASE LET ME KNOW THANK YOU.
V/R
SPC. HESS, STEVEN
Guest's Name: pamela
Message:
Hi Linda & Fran Capo
I came across your website while I myself was looking for people who can collect or fund my children soccer teams (4 teams) with soccer balls here in South Africa.
Tears were running on my face as I sat at the internet cafe and reading about Nick.Nick had a good heart,he did a wonderful job.
Now I also realise that what I'm doing here for these street children is very important.
Thank you for this inspiring story of Nick ,May God bless his family.
E-mail. ame2lla@yahoo.co.uk
Guest's Name: Tommy
Message:
Miss you brother.
Guest's Name: Linda
Message:
I just read the story of Nick's soccer balls. Our small town collected balls in 2005 and sent them to a local soldier in Iraq. He sent pictures of his unit handing out the balls to the kids and playing with them. Such a wonderful thing. I am sure Nick is watching with a smile on his face. God bless all our troops and families.
Guest's Name: shelby
Message:
i was amazed how this affected me when i heard nick's story i was truly touched and as a deicated soccer player myself i plan to do anything i can to help. = )
Guest's Name: Fran Capo
Message:
It was fantastic meeting you yesterday at the Amercian Motivation Awards, what your son did was truly inspirational and showed what a wonderful soul he was to this world. Your family carrying on his legacy like this has brightened the lives of many children, and I'm sure Nick is smiling down upon you from above. God bless. - Fran Capo Worlds Fastest Talking Female
Guest's Name: vianey and joe
Message:
Im so touched with the story of nick i wish his family the best and I hope that nicks dream will keep motivating many other people.
Guest's Name: VMHS Chemistry Class
Message:
WE WERE TOUCHED BY NICK'S STORY AND WOULD LIKE TO HONOR HIM THIS VETERAN'S DAY BY DONATING SOCCER BALLS SO HIS MEMORY AND DEVOTION TO THE CHILDREN OF IRAQ MAY LIVE ON.
Guest's Name: John
Message:
Amazing how such human spirit can be found in something so ugly as war. Bravo Nick for showing the world the real face of everyday Americans.
Guest's Name: Trish | eMailOurMilitary.com
Message:
We support Kick for Nick! What a wonderful endeavor!
Guest's Name: Helen Rendell-Baker
Message:
Bill and Shalini
What a wonderful tribute and memorial to Nick. Thanks for sharing this with me.
Guest's Name: Mark Kolier
Message:
We so happy to be a part of keeping Nick's dream alive!
Guest's Name: Michele
Message:
It has been an honor to help create the Kick For Nick site. We feel privileged in helping to spread the work about this wonderful young man and the mission created in his honor.
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