Gilliam continues to give back
Serving as co-lead for the sport of soccer at the Niagara 2022 Canada Summer Games is the perfect fit for Poppy Gilliam.
“Soccer has been such an integral part of my life and it is a chance to give back to a sport that I love and one that has been so good for me,” the 47-year-old Niagara Falls native said.
The Niagara Falls Sports Wall of Fame inductee was a member of Team Ontario, trained with the national development team for a year and was a scholarship player at NCAAA Division 1 Brown University, where she helped her team to a pair of Ivy League championships and a berth in the NCAA Sweet 16 in 1994. Gilliam used her fifth year of eligibility to play for Brock, where she lead her team in scoring and was on the All-Canadian honour roll.
It is a sport she loves dearly.
“Soccer is something bigger than yourself. It’s a team sport and you are only as strong as the weakest link. It’s coming together, working together, winning and losing together and there’s something so energizing about taking up a common goal together and achieving it.”
The co-lead duties also fit in an another important way.
“I believe to my core in giving back to one’s community and I think this was an opportunity to be part of something bigger that leaves a sporting legacy here in Niagara,” she said.
Gilliam and her husband, Peter Partridge, are well-known for their philanthropic deeds and service to the community. It started when they were first married. In lieu of gifts, they asked guests to contribute to the Peter Partridge and Poppy Gilliam Family Fund. The fund, which operates under the umbrella of the Niagara Community Foundation, contributes to local charities that positively impact children, including the United Way, Community Care, Education Foundation of Niagara, PAC ImPACt School Performances and Pathstone Mental Health.
Gilliam also sits on the boards of Community Care and Niagara College and is a long-time soccer coach. The District School Board of Niagara elementary school principal, who this year is working in human resources, coached soccer at every school she was at and also at the travel level. She is presently the coach of her youngest son’s Club Roma travel team.
All the above activities will help her in her Canada Games duties that she is sharing with Frank DeChellis. Their roles involve many duties, including helping with major and minor officials, equipment and scheduling.
“We are there for two weeks solid and we have a sport organizing committee working with us and helping us.”
She is excited about the men’s and women’s competitions that will both be staged at Youngs Sportsplex in Welland.
“I am looking forward to the energy, the optimism, the sportsmanship, the stories that always come out of sport and the sense of normalcy,” Gilliam said. “People need this.”
She is also excited about the infrastructure being constructed for the Games.
Gilliam and DeChellis estimate 400 volunteers will be required to make the soccer competitions run smoothly and they are both actively recruiting help for the Games wherever they go.
“I am encouraging people to give back and get involved whether it is soccer or something else. They need more than 5,000 volunteers and I don’t try to pigeonhole volunteers. I would love to bring them to soccer but I keep reminding people to come out, make a difference and be part of something special for Niagara.”
Among the volunteer positions available for soccer are scorekeepers, announcers, people to oversee equipment, ball retrievers and people to direct traffic.
