Somewhere in the middle of the ocean there floats a container ship. On this said container ship, somewhere squeezed between massive steel boxes, sits a relatively tiny, shrink-wrapped bundle filled with soccer gear bound for the Himalayas. Nearly a year ago, I contacted an organization called Peace Passers, who act as 'brokers' of used, donated soccer equipment. A few months later, my parents' garage in Normandy Beach was filled with stuff, thanks in part to a high school kid named Jake Budlow.
Jake is an amazing person, and I imagine a lot of it has to do with his equally amazing parents, all of whom I had the pleasure of meeting when they braved the hellish Jersey Shore summer traffic and drove down from Chatham, NJ to drop off all that Jake had collected. In 2009 Jake ran his first gear drive, and collected over 190 pairs of soccer cleats for a program in Rwanda. This year, he decided to do it again, and Tibet Women's Soccer was the lucky recipient. This time he collected 160 pairs of cleats, 60 pairs of shin guards, 20 uniforms, goalie shirts, goalie gloves and even a few soccer bags.
In the US, many of us forget how privileged we are to be able to purchase a new pair of cleats every season, or a new set of fancy uniforms for our team each year. So many of these items get thrown out when they are actually still in great, functional shape. Consider starting a gear drive in your own school or community to recycle these types of items for redistribution to a community-in-need. Peacepassers.org will be more than happy to help you distribute them.
Now let's just hope the gear makes it to Delhi! Stay tuned for details on that inevitable adventure...
Check out Jake's story & Peace Passers here:
http://peacepassers.org/jake-budlow-shining-bright
Jake is an amazing person, and I imagine a lot of it has to do with his equally amazing parents, all of whom I had the pleasure of meeting when they braved the hellish Jersey Shore summer traffic and drove down from Chatham, NJ to drop off all that Jake had collected. In 2009 Jake ran his first gear drive, and collected over 190 pairs of soccer cleats for a program in Rwanda. This year, he decided to do it again, and Tibet Women's Soccer was the lucky recipient. This time he collected 160 pairs of cleats, 60 pairs of shin guards, 20 uniforms, goalie shirts, goalie gloves and even a few soccer bags.
In the US, many of us forget how privileged we are to be able to purchase a new pair of cleats every season, or a new set of fancy uniforms for our team each year. So many of these items get thrown out when they are actually still in great, functional shape. Consider starting a gear drive in your own school or community to recycle these types of items for redistribution to a community-in-need. Peacepassers.org will be more than happy to help you distribute them.
Now let's just hope the gear makes it to Delhi! Stay tuned for details on that inevitable adventure...
Check out Jake's story & Peace Passers here:
http://peacepassers.org/jake-budlow-shining-bright
No comments:
Post a Comment