Sharing her goals

A little bit of Orange County generosity is heading south of the border in a few weeks. Kate Allen, an eighth-grader at Mariners Christian School in Costa Mesa, has raised $2,600 to buy a pair of soccer goal posts and nets for Mexican children who live on the outskirts of Tecate.

“I figured if we can have goal posts for our teams here, then why shouldn’t they,” said Kate, 13, a member of the Grace Fellowship Church in Costa Mesa.

At least four times a year, the church and dozens of its members make the 2 1/2 hour journey to the border town of Tecate to help the people who live in a small nearby community.

There, church members help paint houses, dig deep holes for latrines, share food and get acquainted with the people, brushing up on their Spanish while practicing the tenets of Christianity.

Mark Page, the church’s pastor, described the Mexican community as “the poorest of the poor.”

“We’re trying to go in there and really be a presence, as opposed to just getting in and getting out,” he said. “We really want the people to know us and we want to get to know them.”

On one recent trip, Kate noticed that the Mexican children were playing soccer but that they didn’t have any nets or goal posts.

Instead, they were using “sticks and ribbons,” said Kate’s mom, Susie.

That’s when Kate said she’d like to do something about it. So she sent out letters to the church congregation, asking members to find it in their hearts to donate.

Ultimately, she made a plea to the congregation by standing up and addressing them during a recent service. Many responded, donating hundreds of dollars.

Kate also cooked meals and baked cookies, reaching deep within the coffers of her own Internet catering business: Katestastytogomeals.com.

It’s a business she’s been operating for at least a year — with help from her parents — cooking spaghetti, linguine and all sorts of lavish dishes for those who don’t have the time to prepare home-cooked suppers for themselves. When all was said and done and the last of cookie dough had been licked from the bowls, Kate had raised $2,600 — more than enough for standard-sized soccer goals and nets.

“This is the real deal,” Susie Allen said. “Once we cement them into the ground, they’re not going anywhere. This is going to be real commercial-grade cement. Our family is really passionate about soccer.”

So are the Mexican children, who are looking forward to having real goal posts, said Susie Allen.

The church will set up the goal posts on its next trip, scheduled for Feb. 13 to 14.

“Right now, the difficulty is just getting them down there,” Susie Allen said. “There’s a church member who owns a construction company, and he might help us out.”