The England Rugby Supports’ Club (ERSC) have teamed up with SOS IRB Kit Aid to give England Rugby fans the chance to help hundreds of rugby mad Polish youngsters play the game they love by donating their unwanted boots next month.
Supporters travelling to Twickenham to see England take on Italy on Saturday 12th March can take their boots to a special boot barrel outside the ERSC trailer in the west car park on match day. SOS IRB Kit Aid will then send all the boots to Poland’s needy rugby community.
Supporters’ Club Manager Tom Hill who developed the idea said, “ERSC already helps to develop rugby in England but we wanted to give our members the chance to make a real difference to the lives of less fortunate members of the world wide rugby community.
“Every year young rugby players at schools and clubs all over the UK grow out of their kit and have to replace it. Each year in Poland hundreds of enthusiastic kids miss out on playing rugby because they have no kit and their parents who often earn less then £50 per month simply can’t afford to buy it.”
SOS IRB Kit Aid provides this missing link. Funded and authorised by the IRB it collects surplus kit from schools, clubs and players all over England and sends it off to emerging countries like Romania, Georgia and Poland to give local youngsters the chance of a lifetime by providing desperately needed rugby gear.
Kit Aid’s John Broadfoot, who will be in charge of transporting the boots to Poland, is also looking for anyone prepared to offer themselves as well as their boots. “If there is someone out there who is interested in travelling with me and seeing the opportunities that the scheme brings to kids living in the some of the emerging rugby nations then we’re interested in hearing from them.” The trip, which is expected to last around 3-4 days, takes place between the 27th and 29th May this year and ERSC have agreed to help out with the costs involved.
The England Rugby Supports’ Club is giving everyone at Twickenham the opportunity to put any unwanted boots to good use. All donations to the boot barrel set up outside the ERSC trailer in the west car park will go directly to rugby mad youngsters in Poland to give them the chance to enjoy the game they love. All sizes and styles of football and rugby boots are accepted as long as they in pairs, clean and complete with studs.
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