Club Supports SOS Kit Aid
Wirral helps charity to recycle sports kit for the benefit of young people in the UK and overseas so they are given a sporting chance.
The Club recently handed over a lot of surplus team kit to the SOS Kit Aid charity. The charity looks to make a positive and tangible impact on children’s lives by giving them the chance to participate in sporting activities; promote social inclusion; and protect the environment.
SOS Kit Aid was founded by rugby dad, John Broadfoot, during a visit to Romania. The sight of a smiling eight-year-old boy running with the ball under one arm whilst he used the other to hold up his shorts made him want to do something about it.
He knew that his sons had several pairs of boots and shirts lying around at home. So to test out the potential, John collected kit from ten schools to see how much was available on a wider scale. The test was an outstanding success both in terms of quantity and quality of kit, which resulted in the International Rugby Board (IRB) endorsing and funding the expansion to over 1,000 schools and clubs.
With the support of the IRB, kit has been donated by schools, clubs and kit manufacturers across the UK, with an estimated value of over £3.5million delivered to date. Over 135,000 youngsters in 20 developing countries in Eastern Europe, Africa and the South Seas have received quality used and new kit, and there are a further 59 countries on the waiting list.
The key idea of John’s initiative is to give young people the opportunity to play and enjoy sport, whilst also making use of kit that would otherwise become environmentally damaging waste. The programme has saved over 500 tonnes of environmentally damaging CO2 emissions to date.
Today, the programme collects rugby, cricket and squash kit. SOS Kit Aid is a joint venture between the Lord's Taverners and SOS Kit Aid and is supported by the International Rugby Board (IRB) and the World Squash Federation (WSF).