Leveling the Playing Field

Collection and distribution program:the majority of the equipment in our warehouse is a result of our collection program that brings in donated sporting goods from individual donors. Below are the main avenues that equipment reached our warehouse through the collection program:-everyday people come to our warehouse to drop off equipment from their home. It ranges from a bag of gear to a full suv full of equipment.-we run collection drives during most weekends in the fall & spring. We partner with sports leagues, tournaments, school events, neighborhood events and other community events where we feel we can bring in a lot of donated equipment.-we have a large volunteer collection program where the community runs their own drives to benefit our mission. These often include eagle scout projects and mitzvah projects.-we have bins located throughout the community at local parks, ice rinks, sports goods stores, fitness centers and other venues.we also receive equipment from manufacturers such as under armour and stx. These are typically items the companies are looking to liquidate and write off. In addition to the manufacturers and some sports goods stores liquidating to us, we also receive equipment from professional sports teams and collegiate athletic departments throughout the year. Volunteers work in the warehouse to collect, sort, and inventory the donations. Most of these volunteers are in middle or high school, but we also regularly see corporate groups and college students. In a non-covid year, we will see about 1,000 volunteers per year in the warehouse. On average the breakdown of where distributed items are donated looks like 50% schools, 35% youth development/after school programs and 15% pure sports teams and leagues. To receive equipment from us, programs have to submit an equipment request form and then conduct either a site visit or interview with our staff. Once approved, we invite programs to visit our warehouse as many times as they need without ever having to reapply. Some programs come once or twice a year and others we see literally every few weeks throughout the year.certain surplus items or items that are not size appropriate for the kids we serve are sold online or directly to a sporting goods consignment store such as play-it-again sports. We call with the gear 4 good program, however, it is not a standalone program, it's all part of the collection and distribution of sprots equipment.