BBC Radio stations invite donations of children’s sports kit
Howard Lake | 28 September 2021 | News
BBC Radio’s Make A Difference campaign has launched Kit Out the Nation to secure unwanted children’s sports kit and distribute it to children and teenagers who need it most.
The appeal was launched his month to tackle the reduction in daily activity achieved by many children.
In July a DCMS select committee report, using data from Sport England, said that 100,000 fewer children met the recommended level of 60 minutes’ activity each day in 2020 than in 2019. The pandemic has also reduced children’s access to sports facilities and made it harder for many families to afford sports kit and equipment.
The BBC’s Kit Out The Nation aims to help improve the situation across the UK. It is being broadcast on all 39 local BBC radio stations and in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It will run until October.
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Distributing donated sports kit to those who need it
The BBC is working with partners around the country. It is inviting the public to donate unwanted, good-condition sports kit so that it can be distributed to children and teenagers who need it most.
Chris Burns, Head of Audio and Digital for BBC England said:
“Make A Difference has been a phenomenal success during lockdown and I am proud that all 39 local BBC radio station will be involved in helping young people get access to sports kit and equipment they need to get fit and stay healthy through Kit Out The Nation.”
The Make a Difference campaign is calling on audiences to donate spare kit and equipment, as well as calling on companies and charities willing to offer their premises for donations, collections and distribution of the clean kit.
There are many donation points across the UK, where companies and organisations have offered their space and facilities to collect sports kit. The BBC has, however, asked that donations are not delivered to its offices as it is not in a position to process them.
Make A Difference
Launched by all 39 BBC local radio stations in March 2020, Make A Difference is a virtual noticeboard for those offering help and those needing support. To date over 5.5 million people have now either called, texted, or messaged their local BBC radio station, helping to pull communities together and filling the airwaves with uplifting stories of the kindness of strangers.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.