Declutter & Do Good

kitround, in partnership with Visa and David Lloyd Clubs, is set to raise money through re-selling affordable, pre-loved sports kit to support UK based youth sports charities.

kitround, the new marketplace for pre-gamed sports kit, has partnered up with Visa, a world leader in digital payments, and David Lloyd Clubs, Europe’s leading premium health, fitness and wellness group, to collect pre-loved sports kit to help raise money for youth sports charities.

As part of this new Declutter and Do Good campaign, members have placed over 6,000 items of sports kit into kitbins at David Lloyd Club receptions. That kit is set to raise significant funds for the three key beneficiary charities: Football Beyond Borders, Youth Sport Trust and London Irish Foundation. All three charities have been selected due to their commitment to investing in programmes to support development of youth sports in disadvantaged communities as well as broader disability and community initiatives.

Up and down the country, David Lloyd Clubs’ members have been rallying together to donate pre-loved kit that will be uploaded and sold at affordable prices via kitround.com. In doing so they are helping to remove barriers to sport, reducing waste and raising awareness of the benefits of re-commerce and sustainability.

Team Visa athletes, including Team Visa footballer and England star Fran Kirby, have also been donating very special kit to the cause. Sports kit purchased from the “Declutter and Do Good” donation collection could therefore originate from European footballing royalty, Olympic stars or Paralympic hopefuls.

Visa and kitround are allocating 100% of the list price of all ‘Declutter & Do Good’ donated items sold on kitround.com during May – July 2024 to the three highlighted charities. As an additional incentive, Visa is encouraging people to purchase Declutter & Do Good donated kit with their Visa cards, as Visa will then donate an additional £1 per transaction (up to £20,000) to the cause.

Visa has long recognised the powerful platform that sport provides in driving excellence, equality and inclusion across the whole of society. Since 2000, the Team Visa programme has championed more than 600 Olympic and Paralympic athletes selected based on their personal journeys, athletic achievements, community involvement, and alignment with Visa’s core values of equality, access, and inclusion^[1]. Visa has been the proud Worldwide Payment Technology Partner for the Olympic and Paralympic Games for almost 40 years, the first global sponsor of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and has sponsored every Paralympic Games since 2002.

Visa is also a long-term support supporter of women’s football, and in increasing visibility and acceptance for women, on and off the pitch. Together with Karen Carney MBE and Kim Little MBE, Visa created The Second Half, a career development programme helping professional female footballers to thrive after their career playing football. Visa also recently launched its #VisaPepTalks campaign to encourage fans to post their positive messages of support for women footballers, with the aim of drowning out online hate.

Mandy Lamb, Managing Director, UK&I, Visa, commented: “We are delighted to be part of this campaign and all of us at Visa are dedicated to championing inclusion and equality, on and off the pitch. Sports must be available to all, and this partnership is helping these youth charities with their important work, removing the barriers to sport for young people while highlighting the benefits of recommerce, encouraging people to take part in the circular economy.’

Wendy Carter, Founder, kitround, added: ‘We are delighted to be partnering with Visa and David Lloyd Clubs on such an innovative and ground breaking campaign. Getting pre-gamed kit back into circulation, combined with enabling that kit to raise funds to support three incredible sporting charities, as part of the launch of kitround is a source of great pride.

Luke Freer, Head of Communities, David Lloyd Clubs, commented: “Team sports are not only great for physical health in young people, but are also invaluable in supporting mental health by bringing people together, giving them a sense of community and purpose as well as a break from everyday life pressures. Our members have been delighted to donate used kits so that these items can be used again to encourage others to take up sport. Not only is kit recycling great for the environment but with this campaign, the funds raised will support young people in the community through sports-based projects.  

Fran Kirby, Team Visa Ambassador, summarised: “The campaign message and causes are amazing for all sporting communities. It’s more important than ever to focus efforts towards a more sustainable future for the industry and youth of the future.

I have donated some very special kit to the cause, and I hope they prove just as lucky and important when they find a new home. Here’s to everyone buying on kitround.com and raising lots for our amazing charity partners.”

ENDS

^[1] Visa Inc. – Visa Welcomes More than a Hundred Athletes to Team Visa Ahead of Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024