Hi all,

I hope you are all well and looking forward to the festive season.

November was a very busy month for KitAid and here are the key highlights and up to date totals.

Total number of items donated in November  –  14,630
Total number of items donated in 2024            –  91,552
Total number of items donated since 1998      –  1,119,000

Boxing Up – Hatfield

The final session of 2024 proved to be another memorable event with over 7,000 items and 204 boxes and bags being sorted and packed by the team.  It was also memorable as we invited two entirely different guests. The first was the High Sheriff of Hertfordshire, Annie Brewster, who represents King Charles, and the second guest was Alfie Watts, recent joint winner of the BBC series, “Race Across the World”.  Annie is dedicating her year in office to sport across the County and Alfie has delivered kit we have donated to projects in Malaysia and Mauritius.

They were both really taken aback by the sheer volume of kit we sort , box and donate and left the session knowing a lot more about KitAid.
We were also joined by volunteers from the Hertfordshire FA Youth Council who enjoyed the event and we look forward to seeing them in the future.

More than just football

Although KitAid is predominantly a football supporting charity we have branched out into different sports in recent years, such as athletics, tennis, netball, golf and cricket. This is now becoming more apparent in terms of the kit donations we are receiving. Recently the English Cricket Board, who were recommended to KitAid by Manchester United, donated 4 pallets of brand new England kit. The Lawn Tennis Association, who were recommended to us by the ECB, donated 3 pallets of brand new tennis clothing. We also received 6,000 brand new golf balls from Wentworth, which are destined for projects in Ghana and The Gambia. We are shortly expecting a large donation of kit from Nike UK.

All of the above clearly shows that KitAid is recognised as a trusted charity and we are growing year by year.

Financial Donations

Even though our operating budget is miniscule, less than £15,000 per annum, and we receive no grants, we are still able to support our charity partners financially when the balance allows. In November we made two grants.

• £1,000 to support the Christmas/New Year football/netball bonanza in Malawi.
• £200 to purchase footballs to support Ryan Tomlin FC in Sierra Leone.

Food prices have rocketed in Malawi and our very good friends, Friends of Mulanje Orphans, are having a very difficult time feeding the 2,000+ orphans they support every day of the year. Some of us have been lucky to witness the Bonanza and it is something that brings immense happiness and pride to all of the children who take part. With the current food situation the Bonanza was going to be scaled back this year, but hopefully our donation will now allow all of the children to take part and celebrate Christmas/New Year together.

Ryan Tomlin was a soldier in the British Army from Hemel Hempstead, who tragically was killed while on duty in Afghanistan. His best friend recently visited his home country of Sierra Leone and with kit donated, he formed a new football team in Freetown, called Ryan Tomlin FC. They also needed good quality footballs and our donation of £200 allowed him to buy footballs which will survive the rough terrain.

KitAid has always adopted the principle of rather than building up surplus funds, when the situation allows, we will make grants to support our charity partners.

Social Media

Ben W has done an excellent job in enhancing our social media presence through Linkedin, You Tube, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter/X. The Film Friday clips are fantastic and really helpful in getting stories told visually.
We have our biggest following on Twitter/X with over 4,000 followers.  On Instagram in the past week our followers increased by 70 thanks to Alfie Watts promoting KitAid to his many thousands of followers.

If I could make a request, if you have an Instagram account, please follow kitaidcharity.  I fear with the direction Twitter/X has taken in charging for things and making it less friendly to use, Instagram will be our main source of promotion and we need to bolster the number of followers we have. I have tried to be diplomatic by not mentioning the owner of Twitter/X!!!

2024 Christmas Card

The new Christmas Card has kindly been designed by Carole P and is attached for you to send out to your contacts. The 2025 Thank You certificate is also in the final stages of sign off and will be available once printed. I will send printed copies to those that need them as well as an electronic copy to save on postage.

Very many thanks to Carole who retired from her design job a few years ago but has continued to support KitAid

Click for downloadable PDF Xmas Card 24

Lobengula City Queens – Zimbabwe

It is always great to be able to finish the monthly update with a positive story.

We have supported the Lobengula City Queens for a number of years through our partnership with the charity Majinkila Hope Foundation in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. The girls team has been developing into a formidable squad and they proudly wear kit donated by the English FA.

Six of the girls who play in the U17 team have recently been called up by the Zimbabwe U17 National squad and two of the U15 girls have also been selected for their age group.  This is really incredible for a team that hasn’t been together for many years and it shows how important kit donations are, as without a proper kit, the team would have been excluded from playing together in a formal league.

Look out for updates on our social media sites

Well I think that is everything other than to say a very big thank you to everyone for your support.

An end of year update will be sent out before the Christmas close down and until then, take care and thanks again.

Derrick