Hi, It’s Michael here, one of the Co-Founders of Preloved Sports.
As many of you know, we redistribute Preloved Sportswear to charities and organisations who help those in need. To highlight and promote the work we do, we decided to have a stand at the National Running Show in Birmingham in January 2024. This is an important opportunity given the current climate crisis as we can provide people with a channel to donate their sportswear, reducing their impact on the planet and helping those in need.
Unfortunately, the stand at the National Running Show has come at a cost. The stand we have is 3m x 2m and we have been charged £1,920 even though we can provide a sustainable solution to the running community and help people in need. We have allowed for this but the other costs have been shocking (van hire, accommodation, electric, etc).
What we haven’t expected is a demand in our services. From the start, we agreed that we would not charge charities to have items sent to them as many of these charities and organisations have their own financial challenges. Sadly, in the two years we have been operating, we have seen a huge increase in demand with more items being redistributed and although we have had a steady stream of orders, we feel we need more financial support to expand and grow, allowing us to provide help and assistance to more people in need.
What will we do with the funds?
Preloved Sports is a non-profit company and everyone within the company is a volunteer. We do not take take a wage from the business nor do we claim expenses, making the business self-sufficient.
The funds will be used in a number of ways:
- Allow us to continue to provide help and support to charities and organisations who help individuals in need.
- Invest in projects that repurpose sportswear into other items, prolonging their life and keeping them out of landfill.
- Educate the younger generation in becoming more sustainable whilst enjoying fitness, running, cycling.
Eventually we want to expand and have a premises of our own that can act as a warehouse to store preloved sportswear, with integrated shop for resale and also act as a community hub for those who are new to running (and other forms of exercise) but have anxiety or mental health issues and need additional support to boost their confidence.
The funds generated in this fundraiser will only be used for the above and not for the day-to-day running of Preloved Sports CIC.
To contribute to our crowdfunder, please click the button below (you will be redirected to the GoFund Me website).