Spirit of Rugby charity SOS Kit Aid are determined not to waste any opportunities when it comes to using rugby as a force for good.

Over the last 17 years SOS Kit Aid has distributed more than 200 tonnes of donated rugby kit to 43 countries around the world – enough to clothe and protect a third of a million disadvantaged children and considerably more than the playing population of England, the largest union in the world.

But as well as helping to change lives through the power of sport, SOS Kit Aid is also doing its bit in the drive towards a greener future – or red, blue, black and brown … depending on the colour of the shirts and shorts!

“Because our kit is recyclable there isn’t the need to manufacture as much new kit and, therefore, we are helping to save on environmentally damaging CO2 emissions while also reducing the volume of kit going to landfill,” explains SOS Kit Aid founder John Broadfoot.

“I remember one occasion when Leeds Tykes (now Yorkshire Carnegie) changed shirt sponsor over the course of the weekend and the new sponsor wanted to get rid of all the old branded gear straight away, 1,200 shirts would have been burnt had they not been sent to us.

“In 20 years’ time I don’t think we’ll be able to throw anything away, either by government decree or by financial incentive, so I’d like to think SOS Kit Aid is ahead of its time in that respect.

Social benefits

“The environmental angle also helps us when we’re attempting to attract new sponsors because, nowadays, companies are very aware of their carbon footprint.

”SOS Kit Aid receives support from World Rugby through its Spirit of Rugby programme but is always on the look-out for additional partners and funding opportunities so it can be even more far-reaching.”

The Spirit of Rugby programme is designed to promote rugby in grass roots countries across the world, and SOS Kit Aid is also acutely aware of the social benefits that that can bring.

“What we do in our own little way is to help put the richer half of the world in rugby terms in touch with the poorer half,” says Broadfoot.

“We’d love to bring together the people who donate the kit with those that receive it. One example which worked wonderfully well was when a school in south-west London hosted pupils from a Ukrainian school during the Rosslyn Park Sevens week.

“Ukrainian-themed geography and history lessons took place and the school band learnt the national anthem and various folk songs. Everyone got on like a house on fire and we’d like to help arrange more of these visits.”

Weighty ambitions

Another example of SOS Kit Aid using rugby as a force for good is in Swaziland which has the highest rate of HIV-infected adults in the world.

A partnership has been established with a charity called Skrum, which reaches out to the country’s children and educates them on the prominent issues of HIV/AIDS and gender violence.

“In return for the kids getting kit from us, they have Aids awareness training and get a medical check-up. There’s the power of rugby,” Broadfoot proudly pointed out.

From an initial idea based purely on helping to get disadvantaged kids to play rugby, SOS Kit Aid has morphed into so much more and hopes to expand its storage centres around the UK and Broadfoot would like a presence elsewhere in the rugby-playing world.

The biggest project that Broadfoot would like to get off the ground, however, is arguably his most challenging.

“We’ve sent out everything from shirts, shorts, boots, tackling shields and balls to all corners of the globe – except a scrum machine and a set of posts. I’d like to do both of those one day!”

For more information on SOS Kit Aid, visit www.soskitaid.com.

For more information on World Rugby’s Spirit of Rugby programme, click here.