Thanks to the many dedicated individuals, soccer clubs, and organizations we’ve reached 1 million pieces of redistributed soccer equipment through Passback! We could not have accomplished this milestone without you. Your generous donations have given new life to equipment stored in garages and locker rooms, and have provided the game to children who need it most. To commemorate this incredible milestone, we’re taking a look back to how it all started.
Almost 25 years ago Ole Holsti (George V. Allen Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Duke University) was given a request by his daughter, a Peace Corp volunteer in Malawi, to bring soccer balls on his visit to her as the kids were playing soccer without equipment. This simple request in 1991 was the point of inspiration for Mike Moylan, Founder of Sports Endeavors – Soccer.com and the team to build a program that passed along “used but still usable equipment” that was collecting dust in the closets and garages of American soccer families to underserved communities. Almost a decade later the idea served as the launch pad for a partnership with the U.S. Soccer Foundation and through the hard work of countless staff and interns, the Passback program with the U.S. Soccer Foundation was born.
Today, thanks to YOU the Passback program is able to bring the game of soccer to children who love the sport, but don’t have the resources to play.
Let’s reach the next milestone – together!
For more information about the Passback program and how you can help redistribute the next million pieces – visit passback.org.
