October 11th, 2006: at the Drake Hotel in Toronto GolTV and Rogers Personal TV celebrated the life of Pelé as a 'Living Legend', at an event which provided subscribers of GolTV the opportunity to meet Pelé. Pelé has been named the 'Footballer of the Century' by FIFA, and Time Magazine has listed him as one of the 100 most important people of the 20th Century. The event is part of a week of programming on GolTV dedicated to Pelé.
Dave Purdy (Rogers), Mark Rubenstein(GolTV) ,Pele, Kelsey Lemon (SOS) Craig Forrest (SOS Ambassador)
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Pelé's on field contributions are innumerable, but his off-field activities have made him legendary for children around the world. Pelé's support charitable activities for children in need have been numerous.
He joined with Franz Beckenbauer to support '6 villages for 2006' the official Charity campaign of the 2006 FIFA World Cup, launched by SOS Children's Villages in 2004. Once again in Pelé's activities, with GolTV and Rogers Personal TV, are benefiting the children's organization. "GolTV is honoured to mark this momentous event with a donation to a fantastic organization like SOS Children's Villages Canada. The work of SOS Children's Villages with the soccer community in Canada and around the world demonstrates that we all can truly make a difference for children in need," said Mark Rubinstein, President of GolTV Canada.
Pelé, Mark Rubinstein, and Dave Purdy, Vice-President of Rogers Personal TV, presented the cheque to Craig Forrest, FIFA for SOS Children's Villages Ambassador and Kelsey Lemon, Partnership Coordinator for SOS Children's Villages Canada.
"GolTV and Rogers Personal TV have done an incredible thing by using this exciting event with Pelé to benefit SOS Children's Villages. I have seen first hand the work of SOS, and visited their projects for orphaned and abandoned children in southern Africa; I am proud to accept this cheque on their behalf. I know it will make an important difference in the lives of children who have lost everything," said Craig Forrest. A former star goalkeeper with the Canadian National Soccer team and analyst on Rogers Sportsnet’s Soccer Central, Mr. Forrest is an active advocate for SOS Children's Villages.
The funds donated by GolTV and Rogers Personal TV will go to an SOS Children's Village in Rustenburg, South Africa, an area with a high rate of HIV/AIDS and large numbers of orphans.
Mr. Forrest visited this village, built as part of the official charity campaign for the 2006 World Cup, and participated in the groundbreaking ceremony. SOS Children's Villages Canada has been chosen as the charity of the FIFA U-20 World Cup Canada 2007, and will continue to work with the Canadian soccer community in support of programmes for children affected by HIV/AIDS in southern Africa.