Granville Rotary, Denison partner with Crew's Mensah for day of soccer, charity

GRANVILLE — It was a perfect intersection of worlds for Ryan Mills.

The former Denison University men's soccer player and current member of The Rotary Club of Granville found a way to mix his love of soccer and philanthropy. Under Mills' leadership, The Rotary and Denison hosted a soccer camp Sunday to benefit the Royal Seed Orphanage & School in Ofaakor, Ghana, through the Jonathan Mensah Foundation.

"This is exactly how I pictured it a couple months ago," Mills said. "I have a good relationship with (Denison coach Brandon Bianco) and am good friends with Jonathan Mensah of the Crew. Obviously, we are a service organization, and we are always looking for opportunities to benefit not only the local community but also international communities as well."

Mensah, a defender and team captain for the Columbus Crew, signed autographs and took photos with the more than 100 campers throughout the two-hour afternoon. The goal for his foundation is to raise close to $30,000 for a bus to provide students in his home country of Ghana, so they do not have to in some cases walk more than two hours each way to school.

"It's a great deal for me," Mensah said. "Most people know us for what we do on the field. Off the field, we want to be able to connect with the community and obviously give back and have fun with it."

With the spring season fast approaching, campers were able to polish skills in ball-handling and passing under the direction of Bianco and his staff and players. A portion of the afternoon was spent in drills ranging from 1 v 1 play to 5 v 5 scrimmages on the indoor tennis courts at Denison's Mitchell Center.

Mills did not have a difficult time convincing Rotary president Justin Biggs it would be a worthwhile cause. It was a clear vision.

"It's just a great way to raise some awareness for this foundation, which is doing so much good for the orphans," Biggs said. "My kids are both soccer players, so I knew when Ryan brought me this idea it would be perfect for this community. He knew it would be an easy sell."

Mensah played in two World Cup tournaments for Ghana earlier in his career and was a decorated player overseas before signing with the Crew in 2017. He has been an anchor in the backfield since, helping the Crew win the MLS Cup in 2020.

Mensah has shown a passion for serving his community whether it be at home in Ghana or in his professional home in central Ohio. Mills provided each camper with a link to a four-minute video, explaining Mensah's work.

"Regardless of where you're from, we all speak the same language, which is love," Mensah said. "The moment you share love people understand you better than even the language you speak. That is what I am doing my best to spread."

ksnyder@newarkadvocate.com

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Twitter: @newark_sports

This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Granville Rotary, Denison partner with Columbus Crew's Jonathan Mensah