KitAid Monthly Update – June 2024

June has been a busy month and here are the latest totals and updates.  This is also our 26th Birthday edition as KitAid was formed in early July 1998 when I returned from Tanzania. I wonder where the boy, now a man, is who was wearing the ragged Liverpool shirt?

Total items of kit sent out in June  =  6,603
Total items of kit sent out in 2024  =  38,923
Total items of kit sent out since 1998  =  1,066,371

Boxing Up – Hatfield

Thanks to those who have replied to the invitation to attend the next boxing up session on Saturday 13 July. We are low on attendees, if you are still to reply or are reading this and would like to join in, please let me know asap.

Courier Collections/Storage/Finances

We are victims of our own success and the sheer volume of kit on offer has actually become a problem.

As much as we don’t like doing so, we have had to put a notice on the “Kit Donations” section of our website to say that we are temporarily stopping collections of kit by courier. This is necessary as the couriers cannot keep up with the jobs we are raising and we need a short break to let them catch up. Storage is also a juggling act and both containers are continually full meaning that we have had to take out extra storage. This in turn impacts our finances as we are now spending £524 every month for storage and a similar amount for courier collections, sometimes more. With only £8,000 currently in our account it doesn’t take a genius to see that if no more income is received we are only financially viable until February next year!

We have been in worse positions and with careful management we will pull through, but I think it is important to be transparent and explain why we are currently not accepting donations that incur a courier cost. If anyone has any suggestions or would like further information please let me know.

Runwell Sports

As a part of his “25 for 25” Challenge last year, Barrie N visited Runwell Sports in Essex and built a lasting relationship with the Club. At the end of May they held a charity match to raise funds for KitAid. The event raised £545 which is an incredible gesture, even more so, as the Club are Crowdfunding to meet ground grading requirements for their league.

Well done to Barrie on building such a strong partnership and we will soon be presenting the Club with a special shield to recognise their generosity.

KitAid Golf

Over recent months we have not only supported golf projects in Ghana and the young protege, Afi Amezado, but we have received some wonderful kit from the Ryder Cup 2023. The European Golf Tour who are based at Wentworth have been very supportive with wonderful kit donations and support of Afi, who will be competing in the World Junior Championships in Scotland in July.

KitAid has also been invited to attend and collect kit at a major tournament at the end of August at the World famous Belfry venue. We are looking for volunteers to help “man” the stand as currently we do not have enough people. If you would like to help or require more information could you please let me know.

Summer Tournaments/Awards Events

In May and June we attended events at Garston Ladies, Harpenden Colts, Cuffley and Kings Langley.

Many thanks to Dave A, Ed V, John B, Susan H and family for their help at each event. The sun shone at most events apart from at King Langley where we were very fortunate to have use of a sturdy gazebo to shelter from torrential downpours.

KitAid USA

A second meeting was held recently and good progress is being made registering the charity in the State of Wisconsin. Thanks to Ben W for helping to move things along and week by week the “to do” list is getting shorter. Once the social media sites are up and running we will share them for you to follow.

Jacky Davison

Last Monday we said goodbye to one of our longest serving volunteers and we would like to pay our respects to Jacky in this update. Jacky first contacted me in 1998 following an article which appeared in the Hemel Hempstead Gazette. She quickly started to collect kit from her neighbours and friends as she had two boys who were both football mad. She went on to collect toys and also became a very good friend to FOMO Malawi.

Following her funeral we have received donations amounting so far to £1,130 which we will allocate to projects in memory of Jacky. We would like to thank her family for their support and wish them strength. We will miss you Jacky and are forever grateful for your support and encouragement.

As always, thanks to everyone for your support of KitAid and I look forward to seeing some of you at the Hatfield boxing up session on the 13th.