A few weeks back, I shared my plans and involvement with the Champions for Kids Odwalla Game Day Challenge. My goal with this simple service project was to help local kids who may not have the opportunity to lead a healthy lifestyle by playing sports and enjoying nutritious juice. All children deserve the opportunity to get outside and be active, having financial worries shouldn’t be something they are burdened with. I wanted to locate an organization and/or community center that supports needy and homeless children, providing a safe and loving environment.
Without hesitation, Restore Hope Orlando, Inc., a non-profit, 501-c3, faith-based community center was identified. Their vision is to raise up a generation of people who are spiritually, physically, intellectually and emotionally equipped to use their God-given abilities to bring about a positive and permanent change in their families and community.
In addition, Restore Hope Orlando, Inc. also:
- Distributes family food boxes to those in need.
- Have after school, tutoring and mentoring programs that assists 65-75 kids per week.
- Provide daily meals for children of the community (serves an average of 70 children per week).
- Offer adult education programs to provide instruction with basic computer skills and life skills.
- Rehabilitate homes to provide much needed houses for those in need.
I hit the mother load my first weekend out yard saling! When I mentioned to sellers I would be donating sports equipment to Restore Hope Orlando, Inc. and some very deserving kids, the response was overwhelming. Suddenly, prices were slashed! A family had an enormous bag of lacrosse equipment and the price dropped from $20 to $3. Then, a youth softball coach had a 5-gallon bucket filled with softballs, bats, catcher equipment, helmet, etc and he charged me $5 for the entire stash. He then told me he felt bad charging me since the kids deserve to have fun and play sports (the big guy even wiped a tear!).
I also tweeted to my local friends asking for sports donations. Instead of letting equipment sit in a garage collecting dust, why not pass it along? I received some tweets about roller blades and ice skates, but I wasn’t sure those would be items the charity could use (but I was beyond grateful for the offer and all the retweets)! My son and I also decided to make a pile of equipment he no longer uses so we could donate items as well.
The consignment stores didn’t have as much as expected and their prices were steep. So, I stuck with the yard sale concepts and grabbed as many bargains as I could. In the end, we collected the following items for the wonderful kids at Restore Hope Orlando, Inc.
New items purchased from Walmart:
- Football
- Basketball
- 2 baseballs
- 1 softball
- Inflation needle
- An assortment of Odwalla juices
- Lacrosse bag, shoes, pads, helmet and various gear
- 5 gallon bucket filled with softballs
- 2 metal bats
- One batting helmet
- Softball/baseball catcher pads
- T-ball stand, bat and balls
- Baseball gloves
- Jump rope
I have been beyond excited to deliver our goodies and meet the fine folks at Restore Orlando, Inc.! My son didn’t want to give up the Lacrosse gear, he is having way too much fun with it!
Our trunk as well as our hearts have been overflowing! Anytime we see sports items at a yard sale, my son will ask “are we going to donate these for the little girls and boys that need them“. Obviously, this mission has exceeded my expectations because not only are we helping others, but my little guy is learning about generosity. How many 3 year olds know what the word “donate” means?
Restore Orlando, Inc. is actually getting a generous renovation sponsored by Texas Roadhouse, and they have been out for a few weeks. As soon as my contact is back in touch this week, my son and I will be delivering everything we collected including Odwalla juices. We are also going to learn about their volunteer opportunities to see how we can get other local bloggers involved.
To learn more about Restore Hope Orlando, Inc., check out these YouTube videos. I also encourage you to get involved and visit Champions for Kids at the following links:
- Website: http://championsforkids.org/
- Twitter Handle: https://twitter.com/#!/champions4kids
- Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ChampionsForKids
* This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias; however, all opinions are my own. #OdwallaCFK #CBias