England manager Gareth Southgate presented a football charity based near Buckinghamshire a special one-off item to mark a unique milestone.
The 53-year-old presented an England shirt to mark the 1,000,000th piece of kit that had been donated to Kit Aid, a sports project that acquires jerseys which are then donated to impoverished areas in Africa, South America, Asia and Eastern Europe.
Our First Ambassador Club, @cheshamutdfc still supporting KitAid in our 25th Anniversary year
— KitAid (@KitAid) March 3, 2023
Lovely to see this first team kit getting a new life with a youth team in #Kumasi #Ghana@NonLeaguePaper @CheshamUtdTrust @James_BFP #Chesham pic.twitter.com/NABfdHKZIo
Founded by Derrick Williams back in 1998 after he visited Tanzania, many football clubs in Buckinghamshire have helped the cause with Chesham United, Amersham Town, Wycombe Wanderers and Aylesbury Vale Dynamos all giving surplus tops to the charity.
A fantastic 25th Anniversary celebration evening where KitAid announced the incredible achievement of the One Millionth item of kit donated..
— KitAid (@KitAid) September 9, 2023
1,000,000 smiles across Planet Football! pic.twitter.com/kfcXK2lEc5
READ MORE: Many classic Wycombe shirts up for sale in Kit Aid auction
The charity’s 25th anniversary and one-millionth milestone was celebrated at a special fundraising dinner at the Watford FC Stadium in Vicarage Road on Friday, September 8.
It was great to receive a certificate from @KitAid following the @ValeDynamos/@RRFC_1971 kit drive last month. Hundreds of items were donated and £1,140 was raised through an auction organised by us at the @bucksfreepress. Thank you to those who took part. It means a lot. pic.twitter.com/ZVaZbIr268
— James Richings (@James_BFP) April 4, 2022
Derrick said: “I am delighted that KitAid has reached the major milestone of donating one million items of kit, in our 25th Anniversary year.
Well done #Wycombe and #GarethAinsworth from your supporters in #Malawi
— KitAid (@KitAid) July 3, 2020
Good luck in the next game(s)#chairboys #wwfc pic.twitter.com/IZrIv6mll3
“It has been a tremendous effort by all of our volunteers and we could not have achieved this without the help of hundreds of clubs supporting our work.
A 92nd min equaliser by @ValeDynamos prevented @levgreenfc from taking the inaugural KitAid Supporters Cup this afternoon.
— KitAid (@KitAid) November 12, 2022
Honours even at 3-3 and the Cup will be carried over to their next meeting at Aylesbury in Jan.
Congratulations to @blundenm8 on winning MOTM pic.twitter.com/TIxjPmzNVn
READ MORE: Chesham United donate old football kits to residents in Accra, Ghana
“Every item of kit makes a difference, enables someone to participate in sport and brings a smile to their day.”
The charity is based in Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire but has numerous volunteers across Buckinghamshire.
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