Network of equipment bins provide free sports gear to kids in Erie & Niagara
Buffalo, NY – June 1st
For a 3rd year running, Victory Sports will install a network of sports equipment distribution points – Ball Bins – around Erie and Niagara counties, providing kids from across the region with access to soccer balls, basketballs, footballs, jump ropes, frisbees and more. Too many kids lack basic resources to be able to lead a physically active lifestyle and enjoy the benefits of playing sports. Our Ball Bins play a small part in changing that for those living in communities surrounding one of our bins.
Each of the 20 planned bins for the 2021 campaign will be refilled with 10-15 items of equipment every week starting in June and running thru October. We expect to distribute well over 4000+ items by the end of the campaign, impacting just as many kids, if not more given the groups we see using an item they’ve taken from our bins.
No other organization is reaching as many kids through sport and play as Victory Sports.
In 2019, Victory Sports began working with the Ralph C. Wilson Jr, Foundation and Project Play WNY to replicate the Ball Bin initiative first delivered in South East Michigan (Mr Wilson’s other target area). Last year, with the obvious challenges presented by the pandemic, the campaign was switched from a ‘use and replace’ to a ‘use and keep’ model, thereby limiting the possible risk of infection transmission through shared equipment. With the success of last year’s campaign and our commitment to providing as many items as possible, we will continue with the model we used last year, even with Covid rates thankfully almost down to zero.
2021 will see us reinstall the 14 bins from last year (view on Google Maps via each link):
- West Seneca – Centennial Park – Generously supported by West Seneca Teacher’s Association
- Town of Tonawanda – Mang Park Cultural Building
- Town of Tonawanda – Lincoln Park
- Sloan – 50 Griffith Street, 14212
- West Side, Buffalo – West Side Community Services – Generously supported by the Stahlka Agency
- Babcock – Arlene Mychajliw Community Center
- Lockport – Dolan Park
- Lockport – Willow Park
- Cheektowaga – Stiglmeier Park
- Cheektowaga – Town Park
- Niagara Falls – Harry Jordan Gardens
- Niagara Falls – Beloved Community
- Niagara Falls – Packard Court
- Niagara Falls – Niagara Falls Boys’ & Girls’ Club
We will also introduce several new bins this summer; at least one in Hamburg, an additional two in Lockport, two in North Tonawanda for the first time, and at least two more in the City of Buffalo.
Installing and restocking these Ball-Bins is made possible by the generous support from Ralph C. Wilson Jr Foundation and individual donors to Victory Sports. The Ball-Bins are centrally located within each community and are regularly visited by users and by Victory Sports in our big blue van, attracting lots of attention!
We rely on volunteers to help us refill the bins each week. We work with each volunteer to identify a route that covers one or more of our bins and works with their own schedule, and each week that volunteer takes a bag of equipment to each bin and drops off the items any time day or night. It’s that simple! Volunteers can collect multiple weeks’ worth from us so they don’t have to come to our warehouse in Williamsville each week, making it even smoother. A totally flexible, remote, safe and highly valuable volunteering assignment!
If you or anyone you know would be interested in being a Ball Bin volunteer this summer, please get in touch on edmond@victorysports.org or message us via our Facebook page or call 716-523-4210.
We’re now inviting local businesses and community figures to consider adopting one of our Ball-Bins. In doing so, you help us restock your Ball-Bin every week so that kids aren’t disappointed to find an empty bin! We can provide great social media coverage at the launch and every week when we restock, plus you’ll have your logo and company name on the signage and, most importantly, you’ll be helping the kids in your community! Check out the flyer below.
We’d like to thank West Seneca Teacher’s Association and Stahlka Agency for adopting our West Seneca and West Side (Buffalo) bins respectively in 2020 and again this year.
If you or your organization is interested in demonstrating your commitment to your local community by adopting one of our Ball-Bins, please do get in touch with edmond@victorysports.org
You can also help us install and restock more Ball-Bins across WNY by donating here or via the link below. We truly appreciate your help!
