KitAid Monthly Update – August 2024

Hi all,

I hope you have all had a good month and have enjoyed a break. August is always a slow month for KitAid as so many people are on holiday, but even so, there is always a lot going on in the background. Here are the latest totals.

Total items donated in month   =  1,944
Total items donated in 2024      =  57,911
Total items donated since 1998 = 1,085,359

KitAid USA

KitAid is now officially registered with the IRS in America and our reach is extended to another Continent. Many thanks to Kyle who has started things off Stateside. It will operate in Wisconsin to start with and then gradually expand to other States.
KitAid USA will be entirely independent but Ben Wildman will sit as a Director to act as a liaison between the two charities. Ben has already started to set up the social media side and please do follow online via

Twitter/X Facebook  –  @kitaidusa
Instagram  -@KitAid_USA

Watch this space and online as KitAid USA takes off.

Afi Amezado – The Ghanaian Golf Girl

Afi arrived in the UK in mid August and since then she has been on a whirlwind tour of golf tournaments across Hertfordshire.

Through KitAid connections/supporters we have been able to create an incredible package for her. She has played at top courses such as The Grove and Moor Park and thanks to Ross from Five Star Trophies, she has been given access to West Herts GC to practice in between tournaments.
So far she has played in seven junior tournaments and has won Nearest the Pin at Welwyn Garden City, 2nd girl at Verulam and 1st girl at Manor of Groves.
She has adapted brilliantly and has gone from playing on a fairly basic course in Accra to playing on some World class greens. Afi comes from a very poor background, lives in a shipping container with five siblings sleeping in one room, and she has made many friends already.

A busy schedule has been created for September and KitAid has handed the day to day running to Ian Dell, our Regional Coordinator for Cambridge. Good luck to Afi for the rest of her stay and we really hope she finds a sponsor to help her develop into a professional golfer.

The Belfry – BETFRED British Masters

Today is the final day of the British Masters and KitAid has provided 21 volunteers across all five days to run the Chipping event and to collect donated golf kit for the Fafali Golf project in Accra.

Many thanks to all of the volunteers who have had an early start, driving to Sutton Coldfield for a 7-45am set up. It has been a wonderful experience and everyone has thoroughly enjoyed themselves. We have met hundreds of potential new supporters and received some great kit to support the project and new golfers in Ghana.

A massive thank you to Emilia Gilliland from the European Golf Tour for her support and hospitality every day.

As I write this update Afi and her coach, John, are being driven to the Belfry to experience VIP Hospitality in the Sir Nick Faldo suite for the final day of the tournament. Fingers crossed, in a couple of years, we could see Afi competing in a major tournament.

Royston Golf Club – Senior Captains Day

Many thanks to Ian Dell for dedicating his Captains Day to KitAid.

He raised £550 on the day and I was able to give a short presentation on our work to club members. Afi and John were made to feel very welcome and they were each given special gifts to commemorate their visit.

BBC 3 Counties – Non League Show

If you are at a loss for something to do at 6-15pm tomorrow (Monday 2nd Sept) evening, I will be interviewed about the links KitAid has with Non League football clubs across the country. We do have many links with FC United of Manchester, Chesham United, Marine, Witton Albion, Leverstock Green all being Ambassador Clubs. Kings Langley FC are currently holding kit collections for us at all home games in September.

KitAid works!

I think the following story indicates how KitAid is not only resilient but our network works.

Darren P received an email offering 300 brand new kits for toddlers. Darren is based in Milton Keynes and the kits were in Norfolk. He passed the contact on and I spoke to the grandmother of the girl we featured in the last monthly update who won Miss Teen Norwich. She agreed to get her son to contact the person, who then put him in touch with her daughter who had all of the kits in her garage in Wymondham. He collected all of the kits, drove them to his mother in Amersham the next day and I will collect them on Thursday to take them back to Hemel Hempstead!!

I honestly cannot imagine many of the top 100 charities would go to these lengths to save a £100 courier collection fee.  KitAid works!!!

I don’t think I have ever written a monthly update with hardly any mention of football before, but it shows how KitAid is doing as the name suggests, and providing kit across multi sports.

Thanks everyone for your support and here’s to a great September.

Derrick

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KitAid Monthly Update – July 2024

Hi all,

I hope you are well and enjoying the heatwave.

July was a very successful and busy month, here are the latest totals:

Total items donated in July  –  17,044
Total items donated in 2024  –  55,967
Total items donated since 1998  –  1.083,415

As well as one of the biggest boxing up sessions ever, there were 19 individual charity visits to the containers in Hemel Hempstead with kit starting the journey to 16 different countries.

British Masters Golf –  The Belfry

Many thanks to everyone who has volunteered to help at this five day event.  Altogether we will have 21 volunteers on site to collect donated kit and to manage a special “chipping” competition for kit donors.  This is the first time we have attended an event over five days and it is testament to how KitAid has grown and to how we are recognised. It is also positive that we can operate in another sport and we now receive kit from multiple different sports, including cricket, hockey, athletics, bowls, netball.

Afi Amezado

Unfortunately Afi’s visa did not receive clearance in time which meant that she was unable to attend the World Junior Championship in Scotland as well as the Scottish Open.  The visa has now been approved and Fafali charity have gained sponsorship for her flights so she will be competing in some local junior tournaments in Hertfordshire. Thanks to Ian Dell for arranging for her to compete in his Captains Day event at Royston Golf Club.

Race Across the World

If you watched the latest BBC series you will recall Alfie Watts and his friend Ollie winning the race.  Alfie is from St Albans and he was a volunteer at the WFC Community Trust, as well as being good friends with one of our boxing up stalwarts.
He has just left for Malaysia with a lot of kit which he will donate to one of the places he visited on his RATW trip. He will also be holding an auction during the trip with the proceeds being shared between KitAid, Charity Boots and a local charity in Malaysia.

You can follow Alfie’s trip on his social media channels @_alfiewatts_

Ballysillan Belfast Football Camp

A small group of KitAid supporters visited the Football Camp and as ever, came away in awe of the incredible work carried out by the Ballysillan Youth For Christ team. Some of you will have heard Pete and Bean speaking at our Anniversary Celebration dinners, and they are both incredibly inspirational people.

We co-sponsored the event again this year and over 90 boys and girls had an incredible week. It is so much more than a football camp though as the coaches work with the kids as mentors and develop long standing relationships through the Bluehouses Centre. if you would like to visit next year please let me know.

Its more than just a shirt…… Another inspirational story

I was recently contacted by a teenager who wanted to collect kit for us as part of a charity drive. She explained that she has ADHD and was bullied at school so found activities such as this quite difficult.

She received some support and persevered by contacting all of the schools in her city.  She had attended some of the same schools but had left due to bullying and non attendance.

I was contacted by her Nan to say that she had collected lots of kit and this was a huge success for her personally as she had overcome some fears and had been motivated to concentrate on the task. Something she had previously struggled with due to her ADHD. She now wants to continue collecting kit.

It really is more than just a shirt, in so many different ways.

As I am writing this update Niel, one of our long standing volunteers, is driving down the M6/M1 with a van load of kit he has collected from Sale. Niel lives near Barnsley, he collected the van in Leeds, then drove to Sale to meet Regional Co-ordinator Peter M, who had kindly stored all of the boxes in his garage for a couple of months. They then loaded the van. I will meet Niel at the containers at 3pm, unload, and then he will head straight back to the M1 to return the van to Leeds.

This is why KitAid continues, thanks to the incredibly generous volunteers we have who go the extra mile to make a difference. Thank You to all of our volunteers.

Have a great August.

Derrick

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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.

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KitAid Monthly Update – April 2024

April was another busy month for KitAid and it was great to get out to visit charity partners across these fair isles. The totals are growing and here are the latest figures.

 

Total items of kit donated in April  –  5,320

Total items of kit donated in 2024  –  22,835

Total items donated since 1998  –  1,050,283

 

Glasgow Kiltwalk – Diamonds in the Community

We were delighted to take part in the biggest ever Kiltwalk last Sunday as part of the wonderful Diamonds in the Community (DITC) team. The sun shone and the 14 miles along the banks of the River Leven to Balloch and Loch Lomond were beautiful.

If you attended our 25th Anniversary celebration you will have heard Dougy Allsop speaking about the incredible community work DITC delivers. We have been supported by Dougy and his team for 10 years as they operate as the main Hub for KitAid across Scotland. They now deliver a wide range of support programmes for Airdrie and surrounding communities. They are a wonderful team and it was great to join them for their biggest fundraising event of the year and to present them with a special recognition of 10 years partnership.

Thanks to Mark Smith and Steve Andersen who also took part and we will definitely be returning next year, with hopefully a bigger team from KitAid. There is a choice of walking distances from 3, 14 or 23 miles and you don’t have to wear a kilt!

 

FC United of Manchester kit amnesty 

From sunny Glasgow to liquid sunshine in Moston!!

I arrived at the ground soon after midday to meet regional coordinator Peter Moulds outside the ground. A visit to the stands saw a very soggy, rain soaked pitch and some concerned officials! Fortunately the rain stopped and the ground staff cleared away some goalmouth puddles, which allowed the game to go ahead.

We were joined outside the stadium by Gillian and Chris Coxhead from FOMO Malawi, as they had travelled down from Preston to help with the collection. And to hold on to our display to stop it taking off in the Manchester breeze! A car load of kit was donated and it will all be heading off to Malawi in the next few months.

Thanks to Peter for arranging the collection and to the Club for their hospitality.  They won the game 3-0 so all in all, a good day out.

 

“Say it with a Smile”

I am always intrigued how the KitAid story resonates with different groups and it was lovely to be invited to give a presentation to this dementia support group in Watford. Football is a universal language and with the lovely film stories we now have, it is easy to share the good news.

“Say it with a Smile” is a volunteer run charity and we have close links as Hannah who runs it and some of her volunteers all worked at the WFC Community Trust and some also volunteer for KitAid. As a result of the presentation we will be donating some kit for a project in Kenya as one of the attendees is a trustee for the charity involved.

 

Boxing Up/Kit Donations

Our next boxing up session is on Saturday morning at Hatfield. If by chance you are reading this and still to respond we would love to see you.

We have received some wonderful kit donations recently, from The FA, Liverpool FC Foundation, Manchester United, British Canoeing, European Golf Tour, Reading FC as well as many donations to regional coordinators across the country. Storage is always an issue but fortunately we can turn things around quickly as we have so many people asking for kit. Our couriers, PCS Logistics Ltd, have also been really helpful in terms of offering emergency storage when the containers are full.

Thanks to all of our RC’s for collecting and storing the kit too.

 

FILM Friday

You may have noticed a theme on a Friday morning as Ben issues his latest blockbuster on X/Linkedin. They are great and he kindly edits some of our older film clips and makes them into a short story.

Our number of followers on all social media sites is creeping up and we are just 10 followers away from reaching 4,000 on X/Twitter.

 

HELP NEEDED

On 11 May we have been given a stand to collect kit at a Hertfordshire Girls all day tournament in Bushey.

On 15 June we have been invited to have a stand at Kings Langley YFC community day.

Both events are in the Watford area but I need some help to attend at both events and we need a gazebo and table for Kings Langley. Please let me know if you can help.

Well I think that is everything for April, save to say, thanks very much for your support and for being an integral part of Team KitAid.

 

Have a good May

Derrick

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KitAid Monthly Update – March 2024

March was a busy month for KitAid with some significant events and with some really big kit donations arriving. Here are the latest totals and the latest news stories.

Total items donated in March – 6,860
Total items donated in 2024 – 17,515
Total items donated since 1998 – 1,044,963

 

London Stadium Walk

A massive congratulations and thank you to Chris Turton and James Richings on completing the 3 day, 68 mile walk from the Emirates Stadium to the Bobby Moore statue in 148,000 steps!

They completed the challenge and so far have raised £1,552 for KitAid, which is an incredible achievement.

They even managed to get pitch side at most of the stadiums for a photo with the banner after explaining what the challenge was for. James “popped” a muscle in his foot on the final day and he had to hobble from Loftus Road to Wembley after being bandaged up by Chris. I met them at the Bobby Moore statue with a bottle of bubbly and a trophy along with Chris’s Dad and James’ wife and Mum.

They met all of the accommodation, travel and food costs themselves and their Just Giving page is still open for a few more weeks, See https://www.justgiving.com/page/chris-turton-james-andteam1705612763068

 

International Sports Convention – London

We attended this two day gathering at the Spurs stadium and were honoured to be the chosen charity for the event. A very big thank you to Nigel Fletcher and his team for making us so welcome.

It was a fantastic opportunity to network with many different sporting delegates and we were given our own stand to meet people and display pictures and material. We met a lot of interested parties from a multitude of different sports to share the KitAid story with. We have built new contacts and can now follow up with some to strengthen our relationship.

All in all it was a great experience which can only benefit our work and reputation.

 

Social Media sites

Ben W has been helping me with our social media output and his skills have certainly boosted the content since he got involved. He has created some wonderful videos and set up a new LinkedIn site and YouTube Channel.

He has created the following link to all of our sites, see https://linktr.ee/KitAid.net

The YouTube link is great as he has created a library of all of our film clips, many of which I suspect you will not have seen before. The LinkedIn site proved incredibly valuable at the ISC event as most people used it as their preferred communication tool.

Very many thanks Ben and if you currently do not follow us on X/Instagram/FB or LinkedIn please do as there are updates and film clips nearly every day.

 

FC United of Manchester collection

Ambassador Club, FC United of Manchester, will be hosting a kit collection for us at their match on Saturday 13 April.

Thanks to Regional Coordinator Peter M for arranging this and if you would like to join us on the day to help, please let me know. It is a great experience and the fans create a great experience regardless of how things are going for them on the pitch!

 

Fafali Golf visit

It is a few months away but in August there will be a visit from 5 young golfers from the Fafali Golf project in Accra, Ghana.

You may already know the story of how by chance they discovered that Afi Amazedo was a highly talented golfer, despite none of the children ever having played golf before. Afi will be competing in the World Junior Championship in Scotland in July and she will then be joined by 4 of her team in August when they visit Watford. We are looking to enter them into as many Junior Tournaments across Hertfordshire in August and so far Ian D has kindly arranged for them to take part in the Knebworth and Royston events. KitAid will also sponsor them for another.

We will be looking for help in driving them to and from events if you are in the area and free to help.

 

KitAid USA!

Although still in its very early stages we have started discussions on the possibility of setting up a satellite version of KitAid across the pond.

In the same way that KitAid Australia exists, it will run entirely independently but use the same/adapted model. We already have a partnership with the charity Sports Friend, who operate in the USA and the UK, and they have introduced us to MAI, who are keen to partner with us.

I think this proves how the KitAid model works as it is simple but effective.

 

Hatfield Boxing Up

We are hoping to hold another boxing up session in late April once the storeroom fills up. It is currently half full and we are looking to move some kit from the containers in Hemel Hempstead to clear space there and to fill up the room. If you know anyone who has a van we can use and/or, you are free to help in the next couple of weeks, please let me know.

 

I think that is everything, other than thanking you all for your support of KitAid and wishing you a wonderful April.

Many thanks
Derrick

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KitAid Monthly Update – February 2024

I hope you are all well and enjoying this (rainy!) extra day of 2024.

Here are the latest totals as of today.

Total items sent out in February – 3,710
Total items sent out in 2024 – 10,655
Total items sent out since 1998 – 1,038,103

 

Grassroots Magazine

We have received tremendous coverage in the above online magazine which focuses on all things non league and grassroots football across Essex.
Our relationship came about thanks to Regional Co-ordinator Barrie N contacting them at the start of his “25 for 25” Challenge when he visited 25 Clubs across Essex. Since then we have appeared in 13 issues, often with 3 or 4 page articles as well as appearing on front covers. Thanks to Barrie for writing articles and for keeping the relationship strong.
Here is a link to the last issue, which as you can see includes Sir Mo at our last Hatfield boxing up session.
https://issuu.com/grassrootsmagonline/docs/grass_roots_feb_24

 

Regional HUB’s

Although KitAid works predominantly from our storage units in Hemel Hempstead and Hatfield, we are very fortunate to have two other sites in Merseyside and Scotland.
Thanks to our close links with Everton Heritage Society in Liverpool and Diamonds in the Community in Airdrie kit is stored and also handed over to charities from these sites.
A big thank you to Richie and Paul in Liverpool and to Dougie and Gordon in Scotland for making this happen.
It is also incredibly helpful for the charities who collect kit from these sites as otherwise they would have to travel hundreds of miles to Hertfordshire.

 

London Football Ground Sponsored Walk

In a few weeks time, on March 20, 21 and 22, Chris T our Aylesbury RC, and a couple of friends, will be walking to every EFL/PL ground in London, in support of KitAid. Over all 3 days they will walk 67 miles starting from Arsenal on Wednesday morning and eventually finishing on Friday afternoon at the Bobby Moore statue at Wembley.

This is an incredibly tough task, made even more arduous by having to drop down to Sutton United, adding on extra miles. Unfortunately they couldn’t find a sponsor to cover their costs and are meeting accommodation, travel and food expenses themselves. To save money they are staying in shared Air B&B rooms, and from a picture I saw, even an Estate Agent would struggle to write a glowing reference for a room with 3 bunk beds and not enough space to swing a cat!

We appreciate times are tough for everyone, but if you are able to sponsor them I know they would appreciate it. It will make those miles to Sutton more bearable, knowing they will most likely be relegated to non-league if they had left the walk until June!! Here is a link to their Just Giving page
https://www.justgiving.com/page/chris-turton-james-andteam1705612763068

 

FOMO FC – Promoted to the Malawi Super League

They finally did it, despite the original referee being bribed in favour of the opposition, which fortunately was discovered before the match.

It is an incredible achievement as the team is mostly made up of orphans supported by our very good friends FOMO Malawi. The town of Mulanje has never had a Super League side and following their Play Off victory, there were celebrations for many days. The Super League season starts on 1 April and it will be very tough for the guys both on and off the pitch.

Congratulations to Mary Woodworth, who has always been the driving force in giving young people in Mulanje sporting opportunities. We are proud to have supported Mary with kit donations and some project sponsorship over many years. We are looking into a project to help them raise funds as they will have additional costs playing at the top level.

 

Social Media sites

Some of you will be aware that we now have a LinkedIn site which is growing in followers. Thanks to Ben W who manages this for us, with regular updates. Ben also arranged for me to be interviewed on the Sports Friends podcast #AlreadyWon

If you are a regular LinkedIn user please follow us and share our stories to spread the word.

Thanks to all of our Regional Co-ordinators and volunteers who do a fantastic job in collecting and storing kit for us. This is the engine room which keeps KitAid running like a well oiled Formula 1 machine. We are building up stock for the next kit sorting session at Hatfield which will hopefully be in early April.

 

Have a good March and thank you for your support.

Derrick

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Sir Mo Farah joins Boxing Up session

KitAid was honoured by the presence of Sir Mo Farah at the Hatfield Boxing Up session on Saturday 27 January.

Sir Mo chatted to every volunteer, signed autographs, recorded voice messages and helped load boxes into the charity vans. Everyone was excited to meet him and said afterwards what a lovely down to earth and humble guy he is.

85 boxes of kit were handed over to Mo for him to distribute in Hargeisa, Somaliland at the end of March. He will be opening a sports centre and arranging football tournaments while he is there.

A fantastic morning and an experience we will always remember.

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KitAid Monthly Update – January 2024

I hope you are all well and settled into 2024.

January has been a very special month for KitAid with a memorable first boxing up session. Here are the highlights and the very latest despatch totals

Total items of kit donated in January – 6,945
Total items of kit donated since 1998 – 1,034,393

 

Boxing Up – Sir Mo Farah

Many of you were at the session on Saturday morning for what was the most memorable and wonderful boxing up in our history. Sir Mo was fantastic, he took time to chat to everyone, signed everything, posed for loads of photos and recorded voice messages with incredible enthusiasm. We couldn’t have asked for more and he even got involved in loading all of the vans.

When I spoke to him before the session he made it clear that he wants to give back now that he finally has time. A really humble and honorable man in every sense.

He received 85 boxes of kit and they will be used in Hargeisa, Somaliland at the end of March when he opens a new sports complex there. He said he didn’t just want to turn up, cut a ribbon and pose for a few photos. He is going to organise some tournaments to involve the local community.

A wonderful experience and the beauty of KitAid, we never know what the next email, message or call might bring!

 

Thank You certificates

Hopefully all of the regional coordinators reading this update have received the new 2024 certificates to hand out to kit donors. If you haven’t, could you please let me know.

Many thanks to Carole for designing the certificate and for arranging the printing, while she is away in New Zealand. The first batch was posted out on 5 January, which must be a new record.

 

London Football Ground Sponsored Walk – 20/21/22 March

This is a very unique challenge and many thanks to Chris, our Regional Coordinator for Aylesbury, for setting up the event.

I do think “challenge” is the right description as it is a 3 day walk, covering every EFL ground in London, starting at Arsenal on 20 March and finishing at Wembley Stadium a couple of days later. Chris will be joined by friends, including James, who is the Wycombe Wanderers correspondent for the Bucks Free Press, and a supporter of KitAid.

As the walk involves overnight stays Chris is looking to try and get some external sponsorship. If anyone knows of a company who might like to put their name to the event please let me know.

A Just Giving page has been created and Chris is hoping to raise £1,000 for KitAid, see https://www.justgiving.com/page/chris-turton-james-andteam1705612763068

If you would like to join Chris, it doesn’t have to be for the whole event, even a leisurely 3 mile wander from Chelsea to Fulham, will be appreciated. I will arrange a welcome home and congratulations party for their final stretch from Brentford to Wembley Stadium on 22 March.

 

Bill Antonio

This is a lovely story and one to make KitAid proud.

We have a picture of a teenage Bill wearing a Watford FC training top in Harare, Zimbabwe. A couple of weeks ago, Bill came on as a late substitute for Mechelen and scored the winning goal against KA Gent in the Belgian A League. This is hopefully the start of a long career for Bill and who knows, he could be wearing a Watford training shirt every day in the future!

 

International Sports Convention – 20/21 March

As previously mentioned, KitAid is the chosen charity partner for this prestigious convention at White Hart Lane.

ISC agreed to sponsor a couple of our projects and asked for some proposals, which we supplied. They have agreed to sponsor a Women and Girls Football project in Malawi, which will be overseen by our good friends FOMO Malawi. This will enable a womens team to enter the Southern Malawi Football League for the very first time. They have also agreed to sponsor the Chimpanzee Protection Tournament in Uganda later this year.

 

Well I never……!

Recently Johnny (Jefferson), our Regional Coordinator for Durham gave a KitAid presentation to a Scout Group in Whitley Bay.

Johnny’s son Jed went with him and he is currently in the TV series “Jamie Johnson FC”. The boys in the scout group wanted to meet him! He was also in the series “Dumping Ground”. I then found out that Dad Johnny was in the famous TV series “Byker Grove” along with Ant and Dec, and he played the part of Fraser Campbell!

Any other claims to fame from other Regional Coordinators gratefully received!!

 

A great start to 2024 and thanks very much to everyone for your support and time in keeping the KitAid journey on rack.

Many thanks
Derrick

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KitAid – 25th Anniversary Review

I hope you are all well and you all had a lovely Christmas break.

As we are fast approaching the end of 2023, our special year, I thought it would be appropriate to round it off with a summary of what we all achieved.

Total items of kit donated at start of 2023 – 933,897
Total items of kit donated at end of 2023 – 1,027,448
Total items of kit donated in 2023 – 93,551

In the January monthly update I set out four targets that I hoped KitAid could achieve by the end of December, as follows:-

  1. To reach One Million items of donated kit during the 25th Anniversary year.
  2. To celebrate our 25th Anniversary year with a party event.
  3. For KitAid to win an award in recognition of everyone’s efforts.
  4. To agree on a sustainable operating model beyond our 25th year.

Well we can certainly tick the boxes for the items 1 to 3 and number 4 still needs more discussion before coming to an agreement.

I think we can congratulate ourselves on meeting the first 3 targets and remember, we are just a small volunteer run charity operating on goodwill with a very small income.

 

Highlights of 2023

I have made a quick list and would be interested to hear from you if you have any others.

  • Design of a special 25th Anniversary logo
  • Production of a 25th Anniversary calendar
  • 25th Anniversary badge and polo shirts.
  • 25th Anniversary coin (for celebration evening attendees)
  • 25th Anniversary 20 page brochure.

 

Events

  • Attendance as an invited charity to the Liverpool FC Foundation Legends match at Anfield with a half time pitch side presentation of a special “25” shirt.
  • KitAid Supporters Cup presentation to Leverstock Green FC.
  • “25 for 25” Fundraising Challenge. Congratulations to Antonia, Karen, Peter, Matt, Barrie and Ben who between them raised £2,500 from their various Challenges.
  • 25th Anniversary Celebration evening at Watford FC. A memorable evening for 130 KitAid supporters from all over the UK which raised £4,000.
  • Gareth Southgate recognising our One Million milestone with the presentation of a special 1 Million England shirt.
  • Kit collection at Cambridge United FC.
  • Presentation of a Special Recognition Award by Hertfordshire FA.
  • Recognition by The FA in the Royal Box at Wembley prior to the England v Malta match.
  • A thank you from Sir Mo Farah for our support of projects in Somalia and Somaliland.
  • Self funded visits to our charity partners Ballysillan YFC in Belfast and to Diamonds in the Community in Airdrie.
  • KitAid sponsorship of the Belfast Football Camp, the FOMO Malawi Football/Netball Bonanza and the Bulindi Chimpanzee Protection Tournament amounting to £2,500 in total.

Looking ahead to 2024

  • First boxing up session with attendance from a very special guest. (27 Jan, Hatfield)
  • Attendance at the International Sports Convention event in London as their chosen charity partner. (20/21 March)
  • Kit collection at FC United of Manchester (13 April).

In addition to all of the above, we also finally changed our bank provider and have entered into the 21st Century with e-banking. This has probably been the most trying activity of all!! Thanks to Mark and Sean for their support.

All that remains is to say a massive thank you to everyone reading this update for your support of KitAid and to wish you a very happy, healthy and fulfilling 2024.

To finish on, my favourite quotes received following kit donations.

 

“Hear it from me. I am in Norton, Zimbabwe. Keep up the good work. You are not serving soccer. You are saving it.”
Norton Times Magazine, Zimbabwe.

 

“You are not only giving kits, you are giving hope, making a difference and motivating the next generation. We love and cherish what you do.”
Anthiny Iwere, Gravity Solutions Charity.

 

Thank You

Derrick

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KitAid Monthly Update – November 2023

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

November was another busy month with a full boxing up session at Hatfield and regular donations from the containers. The new totals are as follows.

 

Total items of kit donated in November – 10,426
Total items of kit donated in 2023 – 92,816
Total items of kit donated since 1998 – 1,026,468

 

I have decided to take a break from handing over kit from the containers in December as I have hurt my hip/back and lifting boxes aggravates it. Hopefully a rest will sort things out and it will give us some time to build up stock again ready for January and the new year. It is also freezing at the containers at this time of the year!!

 

£500 donation

Many thanks to the Paradigm Norton Trust from Bristol for a generous donation of £500. This came about as Regional Coordination Antonia applied to the Trust on our behalf. It then involved a short article being written about our work and how we would use any funds donated, for their committee to consider.

Thanks to Antonia for applying on our behalf and if anyone else knows of any Trusts who make charitable grants, please let me know.

 

Leverstock Green FC – Ambassador Club

Last Saturday Leverstock Green FC, from the Spartan South Midlands Premier League officially became the ninth Club/Trust to become a member of this exclusive club.

They have been very supportive with kit donations for a number of years and have also promoted our work with regular articles in their match day programme and displayed our banner pitch side, free of charge.

The Ambassador Club is for Step 3,4 & 5 non league clubs along with some Trusts and Societies.
The full list of Ambassador Clubs is as follows:
Chesham United FC, FC United of Manchester, Witton Albion FC, Stenhousemuir FC, Marine AFC, Everton in the Community, Diamonds in the Community, Hibernian in the Community and now, Leverstock Green FC.

 

Chelmsford City FC Collection

Many thanks to Chelmsford City FC who recently hosted a kit collection at their home game against Maidstone United.

Thanks to Barrie N for arranging this and for manning a stall before the match. This came about following Barrie’s successful “25for25” Challenge where he met the Club officials and built a relationship and understanding about our work.

 

2023 Christmas Card/2024 Thank You Certificate

Please find attached this year’s Christmas Card. Please send it on to any of your regular supporters.

The 2024 Thank You Certificate is currently with Carole to design and should be available as a printed version by mid to late January. In the meantime please continue to use the current certificate.

A very big thank you to Carole Parsons who does all of our design work free of charge and this year has been extremely busy with the 25th Anniversary brochure as well as the special logo, badges and other items. Carole retired but still does our work and even takes out time from visits to New Zealand to complete our work.

 

KitAid FC U14/U16’s

Congratulations to all of the boys from both teams, who last weekend played in the District Finals. The U14’s drew 1-1 but unfortunately lost on penalties and the U16’s won their match 4-0. They will now go on to represent the Mulanje District in the Regional tournament to decide which team becomes the champions of Malawi.

 

Sir Mo Farah

At the Hatfield Boxing Up session last week we were briefly joined by Sir Mo when he joined the session by video call and took us by surprise! He wanted to thank everyone for our hard work and for supporting projects in his homeland of Somalia. This obviously applies to everyone who is involved with KitAid, not just those at the boxing up session, so thank you to everyone from the legend, Sir Mo Farah.

 

I will send out an end of year update but if I don’t speak to you before, have a wonderful Christmas and thank you very much for making our 25th Anniversary year a special one. We couldn’t have done it without your support.

Happy Christmas.

Derrick

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