Urban Projects Sports Equipment Redistribution

You may have noticed the large cardboard box full of old lacrosse sticks, soccer balls and baseball bats. This box is part of a new initiative to redistribute sports equipment to students across the city. The name of the organization is Urban Projects Sports Equipment Redistribution (SER) and was created by Roman Shabban (‘25), Gabe LaRosa (‘25), Jakob Riz (‘25), Lucas Koo (‘25), and Maddox Rosser (‘25). “We are collecting a variety of equipment from basketballs to baseball equipment. We want to also make sure perfectly good equipment isn’t being trashed or unused, so recycling the equipment is also a huge benefit.” says Shabaan. When asked about the motivation behind starting this initiative, Shabban mention that he noticed that “the Masterman lacrosse team just barely had enough equipment to fulfill every player on the roster, and I started to think about the numerous schools and kids across the city who may not have access to any sports equipment at all.” This is certainly true for schools across the district. Many teams have been forced to forfeit games due to improper or lack of equipment. 

While SER is in its first year, they have already begun making an impact. With just one collection day event they were able to collect nearly 200 pieces of equipment which were distributed to three schools. Additionally, some of the basketball equipment that was donated is intended to go to schools involved in middle school basketball. While high school sports may lack the proper equipment, this is even more true of middle schools throughout the city. Exercise is crucial in middle school. Daily exercise has been linked to improved academic performance as well as mental health. Students are more likely to exercise if they have working equipment with which to do so. 

The objective of SER is to continue what they have successfully started with just a few schools. “Our goal is to collect as much equipment as possible and reach out to 25+ elementary and middle schools across the city. We want to help as many kids and schools as possible, and hopefully continue this initiative past high school. Eventually, the initiative would ideally be spread across multiple cities, in an effort to allow all students access to sports equipment and sports in general.” says Shabaan. This project has the potential to improve the lives of an unenumerated number of students. 

If you are interested in donating used equipment, bring it to the box on the first floor hallway by the main office.