Boots2Africa will be hosting another of their preloved football boot donation events in the FanZone ahead of Saturday’s home game against Aston Villa (from 1.30pm)
Boots2Africa is a small community interest company established in 2016 with the aim of collecting and delivering one million pairs of preloved donated football boots and astros - as well as other kit - to children and young adults across Sub-Saharan Africa by 2030.
Already 400 pairs of boots and 500 items of kit have been delivered under their own steam with Colchester United’s Football in the Community team on two working visits to Nakuru, Kenya, with the remainder delivered by partner charities and organisations.
After passing their 3,500 second-year target and 6,000 milestone with a donation of 187 pairs of boots from Dan Mather’s Football Fun Days Organisation at the end of July, Boots2Africa co-founder Iain Finch said: "As with this amazing donation by Football Fun Days, the strength of Boots2Africa has been that it’s a really smart and simple idea that with evidence coming back from the organisations we’ve helped in Africa.
"Our communities have really picked up and supported us. Boots2Africa is simply recycling on a global scale, we have an amazing growing support network, empowering local communities and #grassrootsheroes clubs to organise their own boot donation at tournaments and other events and that’s where the magic really happens; engaging with the children in their own clubs and others to help them understand the good they can do with a simple and generous donation of boots and kit that no longer fit them, but are still in perfectly useable condition.
"Our next season target from 1st September will be 5,000 boots donated and delivered which will take us over 10,000 in three years and that we think is truly amazing, all from a simple idea on a Sunday morning that turned in to a thing!
"We’re getting invitations from an increasing number of clubs, both professional and grassroots, plus county Football Associations to attend their events and when we see evidence coming back from countries like Malawi, Kenya, Zambia and Ghana, that boys and girls from organisations we’ve supported are now playing for their national teams at youth level, that makes us feel incredibly humbled that the donations here are really making a difference to African lives.”
Boots2Africa are also supported logistically and with warehouse space by Colchester based cleaning specialists Monthind LLP and are sponsored for the coming season by the Carl Pentney Keeper Academy.
Write to Boots2Africa via info@boots2Africa.co.uk if you'd like to get involved in collections or donations, their website can be found here, while they can be followed on Twitter here, @Boots2Africa, are on Facebook here and have a YouTube video channel.