Cleats for Kids

Group Members:
1. Somer Meadath
Faculty Advisor: Jeanine Stewart
Estimated Total Cost: Between $549.74 and $818.24
Project Description:
I would like to collect used soccer gear for children in communities which are poor and have
little funds. I will do so by collecting equipment that is donated by people all around the area and
donating it through the Passback program. For children with little money, something that seems
small to us could mean a great deal to them. The ability to wear a uniform or have a pair of cleats to
call their own could instantly brighten the day of a child in poverty. In some areas, high school
teams dont even have access to uniforms, making it impossible for them to play. These are the type
of people who my project will focus on helping and impacting. Many people I know have countless
pairs of used cleats, shinguards, soccer balls, and uniforms which are still good, but they no longer
use. This equipment could be put to better use by those with nothing, rather than gathering dust in
someones garage or basement. I am going to work on campus, at local schools, and at my home
schools and soccer clubs to collect gently used soccer gear to be sent to underprivileged youth. I will
plan to set up a donation bin on campus here, at the 5 elementary, 2 middle, and 1 high school in my
home school district, at the 2 soccer clubs(LDC and CASA) in which I played for, and at the schools
in the Caroll County school district. Donation bins can be set up in all the areas mentioned above
and students can be asked to bring in their used products to donate. These bins will be set up in the
spring with the hopes of sending the gear out in the summer. The bins can be simple cardboard
boxes and an announcement can be made to the school or on a soccer club website stating that
donations are being collected. Flyers also can be placed in various locations around the halls of the
schools and in the buildings around McDaniel. By setting up bins on campus, students at McDaniel
will be able to play a role in volunteering for this project. Anyone would have the opportunity to
donate any equipment they have. Also, children throughout the Westminster, as well as my home
community will be able to partake in this project. All anyone would have to do to participate and
help people less fortunate than themselves is to take the gear that they already dont use and place it
in a bin. The rest is done for them and they can have the satisfaction of knowing they played a role in
brightening someones day. Once gear has been donated, I will collect it all and it will be shipped to
the US Soccer Foundationss Passback center. This program ships gently used soccer gear to areas
all over the United States which are underprivileged. While I will not know the specific area in which
the products will be donated or the exact number of communities or people I will be helping, I know
they will be going to an area with children who have little. Passback has provided over 900,000
pieces of equipment in about 12 years. They have longstanding tradition of helping those in need of
soccer gear, so while I will not know beforehand exactly where my collected equipment will be sent,
I know it will be put to very good use. I hope to be able to collect at least 250 pieces of equipment
from all the areas combined. This number of items would equate to shipping between 30 and
45(between 5 and 8 pieces of equipment per box depending on what type of equipment it is) boxes
of equipment to the Passback headquarters in North Carolina. This project is important to me as I
enjoy helping those with less access to the things we take for granted in our society today, as well as
using soccer as a pathway for helping others and providing success. My personal interests in
volunteerism also relates to helping children and people without the means to help themselves. I
have volunteered at the neighborhood center in Harrisburg, PA with at risk youth, as well as served

Christmas Breakfast for those who are homeless or have no families to celebrate with. I also enjoy
being involved with helping children through soccer and have coached younger kids and donated
items to be sent to children in other countries in the past. This project should be invested in because
it provides an opportunity for a wide range of people all over the community, this campus, and my
home community to help those in underprivileged communities to have access to the simple soccer
equipment which many of us have had and taken for granted since we were very young.
Budget:
30 to 45 flat rate UPS boxes shipped to North Carolina-$17.90 a box times 30 to 45
boxes=$537 to $805.50
Flyers-50 8.5X5.47 flyers from vista print=$12.74