Barrington soccer player gets a kick out of raising money for COVID-19 relief

Roman Booker gets a kick out of soccer.

This weekend, he got more than 20,000 kicks, all of them for a good cause.

Inspired by Captain Thomas Moore, a 100-year-old former British Army officer who was raising money for COVID-19 relief, Roman, 10 of Barrington, thought he could use his soccer skills to help people close to home.

“I'm raising money for the health care workers and the families in need,” said Roman, a fourth-grader at Grove Avenue Elementary School in Barrington.

Roman crushed his original fundraising goal of $1,000 for the organization Feeding America and the doctors and nurses at Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital in Lake Barrington. He's now well over $2,000 for those organizations and has raised more than $1,000 for a similar organization in Great Britain, where he and his family moved from five years ago.

When he's not kicking a soccer ball to raise money for good causes, he's plays for the Chicago Sockers FC and someday would like to play for his favorite professional team, Leeds United in England.

If you'd like to contribute to Roman's kicks, visit www.gofundme.com/f/kick-ups-for-covid-19.