After the 2008 season ended, Norkus was one of the first players to jump at the opportunity to be a part of the "Be Active/Swoops' Challenge" by going into elementary and middle schools to talk about eating healthy and saying fit.

But, most recently, Norkus traveled back to the region that strongly embraced him as a professional to help underprivileged children.

Norkus, alongside Danielle, Alexis and Casto Fernandez, traveled Jan. 2 to Santiago in the Dominican Republic with G.O. Ministries, Inc, a non-profit organization dedicated to short-term missions and long-term global partnerships in ministry.

Norkus was asked to plan and oversee a soccer clinic for underprivileged Haitian and Dominican children. He solicited donations from '95 CASL Elite White team and ended up taking 40 pairs of cleats, 100's of CASL t-shirts, hundreds of dollars of training equipment and gear and some donated RailHawks sportswear.

"This experience has been one of the most fulfilling of my life -- professional or personal," said Norkus. "Words and pictures can't do it justice. I'm excited to see such a big improvement in the kids skills in such a short period of time, but mostly inspired by the Haitians and Dominicans pure love and passion just for the game of soccer."

A Raleigh native and forward for the University of North Carolina (1997-2000), Norkus helped lead Raleigh Sanderson to the 1994 NCHSAA state championship and UNC to an ACC championship with his overtime goal in the 2000 ACC Tournament final.

Drafted by D.C. United in MLS, Norkus struggled with a series of injuries and played instead in Germany and Chile, later in the Carribbean with the Puerto Rico Islanders of the USL.

Involved with the Campus Crusade for Christ, FCA and Athletes in Action while at UNC, Norkus has remained active as a RailHawk and still has fans in Europe and the islands.

So far in the Dominican Republic, Norkus organized and built goals for the kids out of old, tattered PVC piping, as well as sectioned off land into makeshift fields so that he could better teach them soccer drills and skills.

Soccer is not the only thing Norkus has been doing down in Santiago, he is also helping with a day of feeding children at a facility as well as a working half-days on construction and manual labor on a clinic project.

The reception down in the Dominican Republic has been exceptional, according to others involved in the project. Word from Santiago was that kids' responses to the free T-shirts and cleats were enthusiastic, to put it mildly.

"Typically there is a lot of tension and animosity between Dominican and Haitian kids, but they came to Caleb's clinic knowing that they had to respect each other," said Alexis Fernandez, a project worker sponsored in the DR by Cary's Stanley Dentistry. "It was so cool to witness the unity that was forged."

"One young boy, after being fitted, jumped up and started squealing and running all around the field, shoelaces flying. He couldn't even wait to get them tied," said Ken George, a photographer attached to the mission. "The other kids just kept touching the shirts, and gear and smiling and thanking Caleb and crew in both Spanish and Creole."

MORE INFORMATION

For more information about the Carolina RailHawks and tickets, including their March 14 exhibition against the MLS New England Revolution, call 859-5425 or visit www.carolinarailhawks.com.