Chester nonprofit helps children design sports jerseys, creating an avenue to explore art

Desks and chairs were scattered inside a classroom at Stetser Elementary School in Chester. Kevin Stanford and Nyrell Hackett each took a seat on top of a desk, quickly making themselves comfortable.

The room is a second home for the STEM Academy at Showalter sophomores, who are cousins. Their former fifth-grade classroom became a safe haven for students to express themselves.

In 2018, the two joined Design FC, an after-school program that taught students creative thinking, self-expression, and autobiographical storytelling through making sports jerseys and apparel. It was the first time they had been exposed to art classes.

As they sat in the room where their art journey began, the two held a jersey that they made in 2020.

The jerseys tell a story that reaches deeper than words printed onto a shirt. It represents how they felt during a time of chaos while the world was in isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Stop the violence,” “I want to grow up to see 18,” and “Make the world a better place,” were some phrases written across Hackett’s jersey.

“Where we grow up, it’s like, everywhere in the world is bad,” said Hackett, who plays on the Chester High boys’ basketball team and has hopes of playing at the next level. “You have to try to find a way out of here. For us to put this on our jersey was like it had a place in our heart because we felt like we’re a product of our environment.

“We got tired of all the gun violence, everything that was going on in Chester, so we just put it on our jerseys: It was our opinion.”

Hackett and Stanford, then seventh graders, didn’t realize their words could impact others. The jersey designs by the two were selected to be used as kits on FIFA 2021 Ultimate Team, an online video game produced by the EA Sports.

“I was shocked when I first found out,” said Stanford, who has developed a passion for computer graphics. “I didn’t realize how big it was. As I was going through it, I started to see that it was really going to be in the game. … I wasn’t even thinking about that as a possibility. It’s crazy, I can’t even put it into words.

“I still sometimes think back on it and it motivates me to keep going.”

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The two have remained part of the project, serving as mentors for the fourth- and fifth-grade students in the Design FC after-school program. They celebrated the sixth annual showcase for the yearlong program on Wednesday at the elementary school.

Founder and executive director Omri Gal, a Brooklyn native and former soccer player at Swarthmore College, started the nonprofit in Chester to offer students a creative outlet in an area that doesn’t offer many art courses as an extracurricular activity.

He has since added three more programs while building a larger staff. They’ve also formed partnerships with Adidas, the Durant Family Foundation, and professional sport teams, including Major League Soccer’s D.C. United and Los Angeles FC.

The intention, however, wasn’t to expand and work with worldwide companies, Gal said. It was about reimagining what a jersey represents and transforming it into a canvas for children.

“If you tell a kid, ‘Hey, I’m going to teach you creative skills,’ they’ll probably shake their head and walk away from you,” Gal said. “But if you go to a kid and say, ‘Hey, are you interested in designing your own sports jersey?’ You get a very different reaction, even if you’re teaching the exact same thing.”

Growing up, Gal was heavily invested in soccer. He played for the New York Red Bulls Academy, but by eighth grade, he had a realization that he would only go so far in the sport.

“Soccer was going to play a different role in my life,” Gal said. “I wasn’t going to be able to make it, so to speak. But I was able to leverage it to get into a really phenomenal school and pursue a great education.”

While studying at Swarthmore, Gal applied for the Lang Opportunity Scholarship, a program that chooses four to five students in the sophomore class to launch social-impact projects. Those accepted each receive a $10,000 grant, a designated adviser, and networking opportunities to support the development of their project.

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After rigorous interviews, Gal was selected into the program.

“I spent the next two years coming up with various different ideas and project proposals,” Gal said. “I always knew it would be youth-focused — I sort of credit it to being an older brother.”

At the same time, he also volunteered as a coach for the Chester Upland Soccer for Success program at Stetser. His former Swarthmore assistant coach Brendan Grady, now head coach at Juniata College, was the program director of the Success program and helped guide Gal to explore other avenues in sports that involved youths.

He also connected Gal to Georgine Zamonski, a fifth-grade teacher at Stetser who volunteered with the soccer team. Gal asked Zamonski if she would be his mentor for the scholarship project and whether the school would allow him to offer a program to its students.

“I said, ‘It would be awesome,’” Zamonski said. “At the time, we didn’t have art. It’s just a great way for kids to express themselves through drawing and writing. I see myself as the biggest winner here, because I get to see the students grow.”

The after-school club at Stetser, which had not had an art teacher since 2014, Gal said, has been the only dedicated art and design program available to students in the area.

To focus on the launch, Gal took a leave of absence from Swarthmore in his senior year. He returned a year later in 2019 to finish his degree in psychology and peace and conflict studies.

“During that time, I sort of came up with the concept of using jerseys as a way to teach creative skills to kids,” Gal said. “I showed up the first day we launched scared as hell, not knowing what to expect. From there, it really has snowballed where we’re working with some of the biggest names in the sport, design, and media industries while giving our kids life-changing opportunities to interact with those brands and individuals.”

Among the children in the classroom on Day 1 were Stanford and Hackett, who knew Gal initially from the soccer pitch as their coach for the Success program.

“I was always in trouble, so I joined DFC because it was easier for me to stay out of my room longer,” Hackett said. “DFC was really the first time for me to just be myself and be creative with other things outside of basketball.”

Design FC was approved as a nonprofit in 2022 and could officially start fundraising. Before then, the program ran solely on the scholarship funds, but by the third year, Gal said, the money ran out.

He leaned heavily on volunteers, including program director Oliver Steinglass and director of program development Ayo George, both of whom played on the Swarthmore soccer team with Gal.

“Over the last few years working together, we talk all the time,” said Steinglass, who majored in studio arts and works full-time at Design FC. “We spent so much time together. Our personal friendship and our working relationship have grown together, I think in a beautiful way.”

Between the devotion of those three, among others, Design FC has added a Junior Coach program for sixth- and seventh-grade students, a free 10-week after-school program at STEM Academy for high school students, and Design FC Academy, a specialized program that provides the oldest students with the resources and opportunities they need to take the next step in their creative careers.

The club recently worked with the Chester High boys’ basketball team. Hackett led the idea while Stanford carried out the design, making secondary jerseys to reflect the tradition and history behind the program. Because of PIAA rules, the Clippers couldn’t compete in them. Instead, the team wore them during practices.

“I talked to talk to coach Keith Taylor and he was all for it,” Hackett said. “I showed him some artwork, and then he fell in love with it. We skipped practice one day, went up to a classroom, and all my teammates just came together.”

The jerseys showcase Chester High’s eight state and 26 district championships. “When the city comes together we are one” is written on the back.

When the team had the chance to wear the final product, Hackett said, it was a moment he wouldn’t forget.

“I didn’t think any of my teammates had a lick of creativity,” he said, laughing. “But to see them really work and try to do something for each other off the court was heartwarming because it made us closer and it made us build a stronger bond.”

Stanford and Hackett are grateful for the opportunities they’ve had through Design FC. The two hope to remain involved through the rest of their high school years.

Stanford plans to create his own apparel collection called Prosperity and Abundance. Design FC has supported him through the creative process.

“What I realized a few years ago is that design can open doors,” Gal said. “It can open young people’s eyes to so many different worlds. Design is really powerful in that way, or at least the way that we use it. It can really expand what kids think is possible. Again, it all starts with the jersey.”