CHURCHDOWN SCHOOL WIN GLOUCESTER RUGBY'S "SOS GREEN" COMPETITION !

Congratulations to Katie Evans, Sam Cooper,Becky Matthews, Andrew Kilby, Adam Willis, Gemma Dobson, Lisa Denby and Vicky Staples of Churchdown School, Gloucester for winning Gloucester Rugby's SOS IRB Kit Aid Green competition held recently at the club. Gary Little - the wonderful Community Manager at Gloucester Rugby has been a keen supporter of SOS and used SOS's "SOS Green" community project as part of a competition for schools to use and promote SOS Green to encourage kit collection and environmental issues in schools in the local area. Winners of a great competition were Churchdown School and three of the winning team are pictured with SOS's South West Regional Director Richard Westaway who helped Gary to set up the competition. Here is a report on what they did within the project : - .

"Hi..... We are students from Churchdown School and we have been doing a project called SOS IRB Kit Aid.  SOS IRB Kit Aid is a project where unwanted and used sports kit is collected and given to less developed countries such as South Africa, Kenya, Bulgaria and Samoa. There are about 20 countries that SOS Kit Aid works with and there are a further 56 on its waiting list.  Along with collecting sports kit they would like to promote the importance of recycling and the issues which are being caused by rubbish. The aims of this project are that it only collects kits and equipment and not money as they don’t ask for financial public donation, just simply the unused/ unwanted sports kit. The reasons why they don’t ask for financial support is because they want to reduce the tonnes of sports kit which is put in to landfill site each year and to give other people in countries which are less fortunate than ourselves to be able to play sports like we do. SOS IRB Kit Aid saved 75,000kgs of quality sports kit from being thrown into landfill site since 2000 and have delivered over £2million pounds worth of quality rugby kit in just 10 years.

We have been doing this project for just under a year now and in that time we have been working closely with 4 schools; Longlevens Junior School, Innsworth Junior School, Parton Manor Junior School and Elmbridge Junior School.  We arranged for some of the pupils in each of the schools to come to an art day at Churchdown School where we had an artist come along help out with the recycling project.  On the art day the pupils produced musical instruments out of recycled materials.  Whilst the children were at school they also made some flags in the design of countries which are helped by SOS IRB Kit Aid.  We have also attended conferences at Bentham and Hatherly Manor which was based on SSCO’s; this is a sports leader’s conference. At these conferences we did a presentation trying to raise awareness of SOS IRB Kit Aid and get as many schools interested in being a part of this project as possible. As well as doing conferences we have been along to each of the school that we have worked with and have done an assembly to show that pupils what is SOS IRB Kit Aid and what stuff was needed to be donated.  We have had positive comments and lots of interest from our presentation to help the project and we hope we have a raised a lot of awareness about this project which many people can be a part of."

 

IF YOUR SCHOOL WOULD LIKE TO RUN SOS GREEN COMMUNITY PROJECT - THEN JUST CONTACT US VIA THIS WEBSITE FOR A FREE INFO PACK. SOS GREEN IS APPROVED AS A COMMUNITY PROJECT WITHIN THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH'S AWARD SCHEME TOO !

 

BIG THANK YOU TO GORDON JACKSON AND ALL AT SARACENS !

Many thanks to Gordon Jackson - Community Manager and all at Saracens Rugby for a great kit collection at their pre season rugby match versus Esher RFC at Old Albanians RFC last Sunday. SOS's David Bowers was there to collect kit kindly donated by Sarries players and fans on the day. Saracens are also very keen on environmental issues and pictured are Gordon Jackson and SOS Chairman John Broadfoot at a meeting to collect the kit and discuss the possible use of SOS's green community project "SOS Green" . Big thanks to everyone at Saracens who have supported SOS over many years !  

SOS ENDORSED BY DEREK VAUGHAN MEP AND EU INTER PARTY RUGBY GROUP !

Derek Vaughan MEP is chair of the European Union Inter Party Rugby group in Brussels. Derek recently bumped into SOS's welsh director Ken Thomas who was in Brussels singing in a welsh mixed voice choir. Ken told Derek about SOS and he immediately wanted to approve SOS and promote it's work amongst member states. SOS Chairman John Broadfoot and SOS Ambassador Graham Price are pictured with Derek at a meeting in Cardiff recently where John and Graham briefed Derek about SOS's work. Derek was delighted to endorse our work and will be keeping the EU Inter Party Rugby Group on SOS activities. Welcome on board Derek !   

MORE KIT FROM WEYMOUTH RFC,DOWNSIDE SCHOOL AND ST BERNADETTES RFC !

Thanks to SOS's new boy Keith Shepherd(pictured) for great kit collections from Weymouth RFC and from Downside School and St Bernadettes RFC ! Big thanks to all three schools and clubs too !

THANK YOU SEGHILL RFC AND WILL HALFORD !

Big thanks to all at Seghill Rugby Club pictured here handing over a great kit donation to brand new SOS Area collector Will Halford. It is thanks to volunteers like Will that SOS exists. If you would like to help too - just contact us via the website link !

THANK YOU CORSHAM TOWN FC !

Big thank you from all at SOS to Ken Baldwin - Team Manager of Corsham Town FC for 5 magnificent sets of kit that we will put to really good use ! We don't normally accept football kit but we have found, particularly in Africa, that "thin" sets of shirts are very popular and useful because of the high temperatures in which they play rugby. Thanks Ken , we are all in sport together and we will find a good home for your wonderful donation !

BIG THANKS TO OLD SULIANS RFC + WALES + 2 DELYS ON THEIR WAY !

Pictured is Director of Rugby at Old Sulians RFC(near Bath) Mark Johnson on the occasion of the Club's very first donation to SOS . Many thanks Mark and we look forward to the second and third donations too ! Pleased to say also  that two big SOS kit deliveries are on their way  this week to Bosnia and Hungary, taking our total deliveries over the year to over 20, against a 2010 target of 32 deliveries. Thanks also to Trebanos and Vardre rugby clubs in Wales for their great kit donations of 5 sets of shirts each to SOS Wales Director - Ken Thomas !

IF U ARE GOING TO SARACENS GAME AT OLD ALBANIANS THIS WEEKEND !

Going to Old Albanians on Sunday for pre - season game and BBQ ? Then don't forget to take your unwanted(clean) rugby kit along and donate it to Dave Bower of SOS IRB KIT AID on the day !! Look out for him with the bright red SOS Boot Barrel - you cannot miss him and he will be pleased to receive your kit. Saracens have been great supporters of SOS over its ten years! THANK YOU SARACENS !!

WHO ARE THE PEOPLE BEHIND DHL LUTTERWORTH ?

SOS is so grateful to the many rugby "nuts" who help support what we do .Two such rugby nuts are Tim Stubbins and Wayne Kinton - part of the Management Team at DHL Supply Chain - Lutterworth IBC. They are pictured here with John Marshall on the right(SOS East Midlands Director) at a recent kit packing session at Lutterworth. It is thanks to DHL and people like Tim and Wayne that soon many children in less advantaged countries will be able to play rugby for perhaps the first time. Gaining from the fitness, friendship, discipline and sheer enjoyment that rugby brings. Keep upthe good work fellas and thanks again for all your kind help !  

BIG THANKS TO DHL SUPPLY CHAIN - LUTTERWORTH !!

SOS IRB Kit Aid exists because ,apart from the wonderful help/sponsorship of the IRB, Dublin , companies like DHL Supply Chain, Lutterworth IBC support us in what we do. Not only do DHL store our kit for free, they also help us to pack it too !! Pictured with John Marshall on the right(SOS East Midlands Director) are Gosia Weslowska(originally from Poland - an SOS supplied country!) and Kyle Pratt at a recent packing sesssion at DHL. This kit will soon be winging its way to Bosnia(or maybe Gosia's homeland of Poland !) Thanks again DHL Supply Chain at Lutterworth IBC for ALL your wonderful support !