Our Impact
Building access one opportunity at a time.
Rising Roots Initiative is still early in its growth. Our focus is simple: create real, accessible opportunities for Des Moines-area youth and families, document what we accomplish, and grow responsibly from there.
Impact in action
What we are doing now
Our primary active program in 2026 is Junior Roots Clinics: free pre-match soccer clinics for children ages 5–13 before Capital City Roots FC home matches. These clinics are designed to give children a welcoming introduction to the game without a participation fee or club-membership requirement.
Free Youth Access
Junior Roots Clinics remain free so cost is not the first barrier a family encounters.
Community Matchdays
Clinics connect directly to Capital City Roots FC home matches, where admission is also free for families.
Local Involvement
Players, coaches, businesses, volunteers, and community partners help turn each event into more than a soccer session.
Verified Fall 2026 impact
September 13 Junior Roots Clinic
Our first Fall 2026 Junior Roots Clinic was held September 13 at Trailridge School in Waukee. Thirteen children registered for the free clinic, and five attended on clinic day.
As Rising Roots grows, this page will serve as our public record of measurable community impact. We will continue adding verified totals for clinics hosted, youth participants served, volunteer involvement, community partnerships, resources distributed, and program funding as those records are finalized.
We publish verified results rather than estimated impact totals. Transparency matters more than making the numbers look bigger.
September 27 Junior Roots Clinic
Twenty-three different children participated in the September 27 Junior Roots Clinic in Waukee. The group included three goalkeepers who received dedicated goalkeeper instruction directly from a Capital City Roots FC UPSL Premier Division goalkeeper.
Spring 2026
The model began taking shape in Spring 2026.
During the Spring 2026 season, Rising Roots began building its matchday clinic model alongside Capital City Roots FC. Youth participants were able to take part in free soccer activities, interact with Capital City Roots FC players and coaches, and remain for free admission to the home match.
Community support also helped add family-focused experiences around clinic events, including donated prizes, meal certificates for youth participants, and local-business involvement. These early events are helping shape the repeatable Junior Roots Clinic model for Fall 2026 and beyond.
What comes next
Turning early momentum into sustainable programs.
Fall 2026
Deliver five free Junior Roots Clinics alongside Capital City Roots FC home matches and strengthen family participation.
2026–27
Build funding and operating systems for scholarship support and transportation access.
2027
Evaluate education-focused programming and planned Council Bluffs expansion as organizational capacity and partnerships allow.
Help build the next chapter.
Community impact grows when families, businesses, volunteers, and donors build it together.