‘Community Day Presented by Amgen’ Mobilizes Volunteers to Touch Up Greater Los Angeles Ahead of FIFA World Cup 2026™

The 11 large orbs were waiting to become globes. Or soccer balls. Maybe murals of people, symbols and slogans. They were round canvases waiting for dreams to be painted upon them and inspire possibilities that went beyond their surfaces. They sat in the morning sun-two straight lines of spheres leading to their backdrop: the historic and iconic Los Angeles City Hall.

Juan Pablo Reyes, one of the artists preparing the spheres for their eventual public displays, stopped for a moment to take it all in. He saw several dozen volunteers getting ready with bright paint colors and brushes, eager to make their own mark as well.

A volunteer dabbed a brush in her tray and Reyes went from artist to teacher.

"So, this is your line of work," he said. "Make sure you take your time and make sure the lines are straight. That will help me a lot."

She followed his instructions and the blue paint began to make an ocean. Near her, more volunteers reached their brushes up and applied swaths and strokes of orange and purple. Palm trees began to take shape. Other orbs began to show their personalities as well. A silhouette of a person striking a soccer ball. A cartoon child dribbling a soccer ball. Some spheres slowly became soccer balls while others became their own worlds.

Reyes watched the volunteers take over and slowly transform the round canvases into their destiny.

"This is what I love about art," he said. "It brings people together."

The painting of the orbs at Gloria Molina Grand Park was part of the Road to World Cup Community Day, presented by Amgen, and one of several events hosted by the Los Angeles Sports & Entertainment Commission as a lead up to FIFA World Cup 2026™ in June. The United States, Canada and Mexico are the host countries for soccer's global showcase and Los Angeles is one of the cities that will host matches at SoFi Stadium beginning in June.

Each painted sphere-each a little bigger than a large wine cask barrel-will be located in various parts of Los Angeles as a form of public art designed to highlight soccer and the love of the beautiful game.

Road to World Cup Community Day, Presented by Amgen

The Community Day drew a couple hundred people from around Southern California along with dozens of Amgen volunteers who fanned out around Gloria Molina Grand Park handing out T-shirts, water bottles and opportunities to work on painting the spheres and a long tabletop that would become a bright mural.

Emily Razaqi, senior vice president of Obesity and Related conditions and chair of the Amgen Foundation, said Amgen has been a committed member to the region since its inception more than four decades ago. She noted recent donations of $10 million to disaster relief following the devastating wildfires of 2025 and continued investments in biotech labs for 400,000 students in the area as examples of the way the biotech company values being part of "the fabric of this community."

"As people come from around the world to Los Angeles for these historic games, I'm confident they will see the vibrant community that we have built together," she said.

Kathryn Schloessman, president and chief executive officer of the LASEC, said the first Community Day would "deliver meaningful and lasting benefits to every corner of the Los Angeles community."

Road to World Cup Community Days presented by Amgen is part of a broader World Cup sponsorship announced in December ahead of FIFA World Cup 2026™. Amgen was named a foundational partner and the official biotech partner by LASEC. It was also named an official Los Angeles World Cup 2026 Host City Supporter. In addition to Community Days presented by Amgen (the next one will take place on May 2), Amgen is supporting a variety of activities in the community, including a series of Grow the Game of Soccer clinics happening around Greater Los Angeles.

"Amgen reaches millions of seriously ill patients around the world and has grown to be one of the largest biotechnology companies," said Christopher Collier, executive director of Brand Marketing & Reputation who leads the sponsorship for Amgen. "This sponsorship builds on Amgen's legacy with programs that promote health, wellness and community enhancement throughout the region."

The event also featured Eddie Lewis, a former U.S. national team player who played in the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cup™.

Lewis said this is "once in a generational opportunity" for fans to reconnect with the sport or for new fans to connect to soccer in a way they hadn't before. He also noted that it will inspire kids and "that inspiration will last a lifetime."

"I can tell you personally because I was one of those kids," he said. "I can remember perfectly the World Cup in 1994 and although I was a soccer player at the time, that World Cup inspired me to want to go on and play professionally and to go on and represent the United States in a World Cup and I committed my life to that from there."

Volunteering Goals

With a disc jockey dropping beats and mixing an array of songs ranging from Michael Jackson to Hector Lavoe, Aby Rodriguez was applying paint to hexagon shapes that would eventually become a colorful mural at the base of a sign that read: WE ARE LOS ANGELES.

"I love any opportunity I can get where I can interact with the community I'm living in and this provided a great chance to do that and represent Amgen," she said. "I love being able to do both at the same time.

The Amgen employee admitted she wasn't an artist ("I am a scientist and a molecular biologist by training") but enjoyed the prospect of being creative for the morning. Alongside her, other volunteers in their Amgen blue shirts added their touches to the mural as well.

Jaime Botello, corporate affairs senior manager with Research and Development at Amgen, said he was excited to know that he contributed to a piece of art that would be seen by people from all over the world coming to Los Angeles to see the World Cup.

"It's really cool to know that it will be seen. I really just wanted to be part of this," Botello said. "It's a once-in-a-four-year event and as a big soccer fan, I wanted to be able to say I was part of the community and giving back."

For most of the morning, the volunteers did their best to make sure their contributions to the orbs and the mural had the right flourishes and final touches. Some sought approval from the artists while others encouraged each other with a simple pat on the back or a smile. They took breaks with cold popsicles and drinks and laughed with each other under shady canopies.

After all the speakers had wrapped up their remarks, LASEC photographers Autumn Vanderhook and Will Navarro saw an opportunity. Vanderhook called out to everyone to gather as a group, directing volunteers at the ends to push in closer together.

She looked over the rows of blue and white shirts. She made sure everyone was ready. "Soulful Strut," the upbeat 1968 R&B hit by Young-Holt Unlimited, blasted over the stereo speakers as the disc jockey watched from the side.

"Who's excited for Road to World Cup Community Day?" Vanderhook asked.

The volunteers cheered.

"Who's ready to take the best photo ever?" she asked. This time louder.

More cheers. Satisfied, she quickly ducked out of the way.

Navarro, on a riser, counted off: "One. Two. Three."

Snap.

The people who painted the spheres and the mural that eventually will be seen by visitors from around the world were joined together in their role for that moment. For that day. For history as 2026 members of the World Cup community and its global legacy.