Football (Soccer) Jerseys…

It feels so good when you can see the results of a lot of hard work. I am fortunate to have the opportunity to volunteer with an organization called, Jerseys from Jersey.  At the end of our fall soccer season, we collect used soccer jerseys, shorts and socks and when we have enough to outfit at least two full teams, we send them to underprivileged countries where they can be used by the children there. I have written about our community collection days before and they are always a big success.

We recently donated hundreds from our last collection to an organization that plans on bringing many of them to Ghana. Today, these photos from an earlier collection, were shared with me. Just another reason to be proud of our community!

Jerseys From Jersey

For a few years now, I have been involved in an organization called, Jerseys from Jersey.  Their mission is to collect used, washed soccer uniforms and work with organizations to distribute them to children in Peru, Kenya, Guatemala, Bangladesh, China, and Nepal.  We collect old soccer uniforms that are not being used anymore and we work with different groups to donate the soccer uniforms to children in various developing nations around the world. Today, we collected over 200 jerseys, more than 100 pairs of shorts, 41 pairs of cleats and lots of soccer socks and shin guards.

One of our local soccer groups, Cougar Soccer, held a “Community Day” today,  We asked players to bring their old jerseys and equipment to drop off so that we could support this wonderful organization but we also wanted to do something good for our own community so we had them bring food donations as well that we donated to a local food pantry.  This afternoon, we were able to drop off more than 25 bags filled with food!

There is the quote, “it takes a village,” and today, our soccer community proved that!  Teaching children how easy it is to help others at a young age gives them the chance to see that even something small like giving away an old jersey, can amount to something so much larger!