KitAid Update - October 2017

KitAid

Derrick Williams
An update from Derrick Williams MBE, founder of KitAid, Hertfordshire FA's official Charity Partner.

KitAid Update

KitAid recycles once loved football kit and distributes to underprivileged children and adults in some of the world's poorest countries.  

Hurricane Irma Caribbean support

If you follow us on social media you will have seen the recent stories about how we managed to quickly source over 100 boxes of mostly brand new Watford and Cardiff City kit and get it to a freight company from the Barbuda High Commission, who sent the kit out last week.

We were contacted by our friends from Sacred Sports Foundation in St Lucia asking if we could provide some kit and the response quickly kicked into gear.  Many thanks to Niel (Johnstone) and to Affinity Water, who provided a large box van for the kit to be collected from the training grounds of each club, and thanks to Niel for doing this. 

Once the infrastructure is rebuilt and football clubs in the Caribbean are up and running, it will be great to think they are playing in kit we have provided.

Nissan Partnership

The partnership was officially launched in mid September and there are now 15 dealerships across the south of England, and one in Manchester, acting as drop off points for kit.  Each dealership is promoting the collection to customers and clubs they have links with and Nissan, as a Champions League main sponsor, have included a prize draw for tickets as a promotion.  Whenever anyone drops off kit they are given registration details which they can enter online and some lucky donors will receive tickets to a game.

All of the kit is being collected and taken to a central base in Lutterworth, which we will then collect once the pilot ends on 31 October.  If you have kit that you would like to offload and there is a Nissan dealer close to you, this might be an option for you.In addition to the ticket offer, Nissan have also been really generous and given KitAid a flag bearer opportunity at the Chelsea v AS Roma game on 18 October. 

They asked us to find a club and six young players who could represent Nissan/KitAid with the centre circle flag.  We chose Hemel Aces FC as they have supported us for many years and we owe them quite a few favours.  if you are watching the game then look out for the boys/girls as they appear on tv across Europe!Very many thanks to Ayo from Nissan who instigated this partnership and has seen it all the way from conception to delivery.

2018 Calendar

One thing I have always wanted to do is to share the wonderful photos we receive of kit being received across the world and we have thought of producing a calendar before, but never managed to produce one.  Well it finally looks like it will happen as we now have the design almost signed off and we are looking to go ahead and print 500 desk calendars.

We are receiving help from a printer (MBA of Tottenham) and we will look to sell each one for £5.  If everyone who receives this mail can sell 10 calendars each, the bulk will go quickly and from events and other supporters we should be able to sell all 500. 

If anyone has any ideas on the best way of managing this please let me know.A very big thank you to Jo (Zanetti) and to Carole(Parsons) who have been instramental in getting this off the ground.

Boxing up Dates

The next boxing up session at Hatfield is on Saturday 7 October and we have just agreed the date for the Liverpool session on 18 November.  With so much kit constantly arriving we will soon set another date for Hatfield for November as we need to keep clearing space from our containers.

If you can make either date/venue we would love to see you as the more people we have the quicker the kit is sorted, boxed and handed over to the charities.  If you haven't been before I can honestly say they are good fun and it is a great way of seeing how we operate, and it is also a good way of meeting the KitAid team and supporters.

At the session next week we will pass the 450,000 items of kit donated since 1998 and we are on track to reach half a million in time for our 20th Anniversary next July.  Who would have thought it possible!! 

Ricky Road Run - Sunday 29th October

As previously mentioned, we are one of the selected charities and we have a long association with the event.  For more information please see www.rickyroadrun.co.uk We currently have a couple of runners who have volunteered to represent KitAid and it would be great if we could get a few more.  Thanks to Darren Penn from Milton Keynes, who regularly attends boxing up sessions, who is one of the team. 

Darren has set up a Virgnmoneygiving page and I will soon start to advertise this on Twitter and Facebook.  If you do know of any other runners who would like to wear the KitAid colours and join the team, please encourage them to enter.

Tales from the Vicarage - Book Launch

As mentioned previously, we are really honoured to be the chosen charity for the above new book, which is due to be released next month.  You may remember that the book is going to be dedicated to Graham and the Taylor family chose KitAid, which we are truly honoured by.

A big thank you to Adam Leventhal who produces the book for inviting us to a a brilliant evening at the Watford Palace Theatre last month when our partnership was announced.  John Barnes was the main speaker at the sell out evening and KitAid was introduced and we had a stall in the main theatre foyer.

It was evident how well know we are now known in the area and we look forward to the book release next month.  A must for any Hornet fan and to be honest, a great read for any football fan.

Liverpool County FA

Our partnership is now up and running and many thanks to Janet (Neville) for making this happen and to Richie Gilham from the Everton Heritage Society for making the introductions.  They have already offered to collect kit at their offices and will provide a container for us which is great.

Over the next few months we will develop the relationship to mirror the partnership we have with Hertfordshire County FA. 

KitAid: 20th Anniversary - July 2018

For both our 10th and 15th Anniversaries we have celebrated with a wonderful dinner, after dinner speakers and music at the Watford Hilton Hotel.With Graham's passing I do not feel it is appropriate to do the same type of event or to use the same venue and I am really keen to hear what other people think we could or should do.  I am even more keen to get some volunteers on board to help us organise something. 

With only 9 months to go and at the moment, nothing planned, I think it would be a real shame if we didn't celebrate in style.  Please do support this and I am happy to help as much as I can.  ideally it needs someone to lead and a small group of people to support as well as a few sponsors to help keep the ticket price down.Well I think that is everything and as I always say, none of the above would be possible without the support we receive from everyone reading this update. 

I know many of you are active in your areas and work tirelessly behind the scenes to promote KitAid and to collect kit. We really do appreciate your support.

With best wishes and thanks,

Derrick and the KitAid Trustees