From onion bags to the net: Children from Hatay in Izmir
Children from Hatay who played volleyball using nets they made from onion bags realized their dreams in Izmir at the invitation of Aras Kargo. Meeting with the volleyball players, the children both participated in training sessions and experienced the excitement of a match they will never forget.
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Ending a 13-year longing and bringing the people of Izmir together with the Vodafone Sultanlar League, the sports club hosted students from Hatay İncirli Primary School, who had made a volleyball net out of onion bags, at the match played against Eczacıbaşı Dynavit in Izmir on Sunday, January 5.
FROM ONION BAGS TO THE SULTANLAR LEAGUE
After seeing the videos of the children making a volleyball net on social media, the company reached out to the school and invited the children to Izmir to watch training sessions and a volleyball match, aiming to touch their lives and leave them with an unforgettable memory. Arriving in Izmir one day before the match, the students experienced two days full of excitement. Visiting the players at the Atatürk Volleyball Hall Vestel Sports Complex, the students met with the Aras Kargo Women's Volleyball Team. After watching the training and playing volleyball with the players, they toured Izmir and went on a city excursion.
On the day of the match, Aras Kargo General Manager, Board Member and Aras Kargo Sports Club Chairman of the Board Utku Ayyarkın; Aras Kargo Deputy General Manager of Marketing, Corporate Communications and Customer Experience and Aras Kargo Sports Club Board Member Billur Kaymak Burkutoğlu; and Aras Kargo Chief Legal Counsel and Aras Kargo Sports Club Vice President Yiğitcan Bozoğlu watched the match together with the children.
THE CHILDREN'S VOLLEYBALL DREAM CAME TRUE
In his statement before the match, Aras Kargo General Manager Utku Ayyarkın said, “As a company, we have been supporting Turkish sports at the federation and club levels for many years. We believe in the unifying power of sports and value the love shown for volleyball in our country. We touch the lives of children through our support for sports and our athletes. A short while ago, seeing the video of our students in Hatay making a net out of onion bags and playing volleyball moved us. After seeing the excitement of the children in the video, we invited our children to our match in Izmir to share in their joy and give them a memory they will never forget. We watched the match together with our children from Hatay and shared in their excitement. Being a bridge to the dreams of our children, who are our future, through volleyball has been a great source of happiness and motivation for us. We would also like to thank the Turkish Volleyball Federation for supporting us in this process and for being the reason we were able to come together with our children. As a company, we will continue our efforts to spread sports throughout every part of our country, especially for our children.”
Utku Ayyarkın presented the students and their teachers with gifts such as Aras Kargo Women's Volleyball Team jerseys, volleyballs, and scarves as a memento of these beautiful moments.