KitAid Monthly Update – February 2023

February was another really busy month with 13,790 items of kit leaving the containers. This increases our totals to

24,500 items sent out in 2023

958,397 items sent since 1998

41,603 items still to go before we reach 1,000,000 items!

My prediction is we will reach the magic million sometime in July.

25th Anniversary Celebration

Really pleased to let everyone know the venue is now booked, the deposit paid and sponsors have been found.

• Venue  –  The View, Vicarage Road Stadium, Watford FC
• Sponsors  – Salford Van Hire/Family FC
• Date  –  Friday 8 September, 2023
• Ticket Price  – £30
• Included  –  Finger Buffet plus refreshments, Speeches, Music, Auction, Raffle and 25 years of celebration!!!

A proper invitation email will be sent out to everyone shortly, once the poster is designed, but please keep this date free in your diary. We are limited to 100 seats, although less once sponsor and special guest tickets are included, so please let us know quickly once you receive the invitation email.

“25for25 Challenge”

So far we have had 5 people express their interest in taking part in a challenge.  Many thanks to Matt T, Alka M, Ben W, Peter D, and Delwyth P.

To recap, the Challenge is of your choice, it doesn’t have to be physical, it just needs to include 25 of something. So abstaining from alcohol/chocolate/pizza/online shopping for 25 days is perfectly acceptable. Or you could spread it out and say attend 25 matches or grounds between March and December. Or you could donate 25 different club shirts or if you don’t fancy a challenge, simply donate £25!!

We have created a special Just Giving page which you can link your individual event to. Matt T has produced an easy to follow guide, which we can send once you have chosen your challenge.

From a KitAid financial perspective, this is becoming quite important as this month we have dropped to an available balance of £7,000. We are spending more on storage and courier collections and to an extent have become victims of our own success. We do not receive any grants or regular funding, and although we have enough currently to see us through this year, without any additional funding, it will all go.

Please support this Challenge if you are able to or share it with your friends.

Do Not Scratch Your Eyes !

If you are a Watford fan you will already be aware of a podcast with the above name, which is taken from the live commentary when Troy Deeney scored an iconic goal in a Play Off Semi Final.

The podcast is very popular and I gave an interview a few months ago. They have recently launched a Patreon site and have collaborated with the Club to produce merchandise T-shirts. Half of the profit will be donated to KitAid and the other half to the Peace Hospice, as Graham Taylor was Patron of both charities. This is really generous and it is also giving KitAid more exposure.

Netball kit collection

We are delighted to have collected over 20 boxes of fantastic netball kits, trainers and balls for the girls in Malawi.  They have been playing in t-shirts or football kits for a long time and it is great that they will be able to play in proper kits.

Very many thanks to Sally Whittle from England Netball and to all of the teams in the Hertfordshire League who generously donated so much kit over three separate weekends. Thanks also to Mark S who helped me at the events.

Grassroots Magazine – Essex

Following a large kit donation from Wilvale Rangers, a grassroots club in Essex, Barrie N the Regional Volunteer for Chelmsford, wrote a press release for the club. They sent it on to the Grassroots Magazine who have now offered a regular KitAid advert and online support.

It might be worth looking online to see if any other County Grassroots publications exist in your area if you are a Regional Coordinator.

Boxing Up – Hatfield, 18th March

Thanks to all of those who replied to the “Please Reply” email sent out a few weeks ago.  If you are still to reply and wish to attend the boxing up session, could you let me know please. Mary and Keith from FOMO Malawi will also be attending which will be lovely and a great opportunity to find out more about the work we have supported for many years.

Nick Perchard

We would like to offer our thanks to Nick who has been a Trustee for 9 years and a supporter of KitAid from his time as CEO of Hertfordshire FA. Nick has an incredibly busy job at the Premier League which takes him to the Community Trusts of every Club. Nick has decided to step down as a Trustee mainly due to work commitments and we are very grateful for his input and advice over recent years.

Well I think these are the main events for a busy month other than to thank you all for your continued support.

Please look out for the 25th Anniversary Celebration invitation and send in your ticket request straight away.

Many thanks

Derrick