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September 13, 2010

Donation drive to aid young athletes

A Westbrook family is seeking used gear to be sold to fund participation in city rec activities.

By Melanie Creamer mcreamer@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

WESTBROOK - It's time to look through your closets.

Check underneath your bed and in the basement.

A family in Westbrook is looking for donations of gently used sports equipment that can be sold to create scholarships so kids can participate in the city's recreational sports and activities.

The program, Re-Play, would also give parents who can't afford new sports gear a chance to buy it at a reduced price.

Morgan, 14, Shannon, 13, and 10-year-old Maura Rielly announced the program at a packed City Council meeting Aug. 30 at Westbrook High School.

"Many children in Westbrook can't afford the cost of sports programs and other activities," Shannon Rielly said at the meeting. "They also can't afford to buy the sports gear they need."

After the Riellys talked about the program, the crowd erupted in applause.

They are collecting clean sports equipment in good condition that would be safe for kids to use or wear. Helmets will not be accepted. Donations can be dropped off from Monday to Friday at City Hall, and in the recreation department at the old Wescott Junior High School.

Donation boxes will be placed near the principal's office at every school in Westbrook, and collected from 8 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday at the community center gym.

Morgan Rielly, a freshman at Westbrook High, participates in the city's downhill skiing program and plays soccer and tennis in the spring. He said he knows of kids who don't play sports because the cost is too high. Rielly said he and his siblings started the program to help give kids the same experiences they have had.

"We wanted to do something to pay back Westbrook for letting us live here," he said. "We just wanted to do something nice."

The donations will be sold from 6 to 9 p.m. Sept. 24 and 8 to 11:30 a.m. Sept. 25 in the parking lot at the community center. If it's raining, the sale will be held inside the gym.

"I hope people will come in and buy the gear so kids can play sports that they like or want to try," said Maura Rielly, a fifth-grader at Congin Elementary School. "A lot of kids need (help to play sports)."

For more information, call 856-7704.

Staff Writer Melanie Creamer can be contacted at 791-6361 or at:

mcreamer@pressherald.com

 

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