Kids sport boots donated from 5yo to teen size

Liz Welch adds to the Northern Advocate's sports footwear donation collection with over 10 pairs of her son's football boots last week. Photo / John Stone

Another act of Northland charity means more children will be able to play their favourite sport this winter season.

Last week, Whangārei's Liz Welch dropped off over 10 pairs of football boots which belonged to her son, Sebastian. The boots came in a range of sizes as they spanned Sebastian's 11-year playing career from the age of five to 16.

This donation is the latest contribution to the Northern Advocate's sports footwear donation campaign, which encourages parents and players to drop off old or unused sports footwear for people to reuse.

With her son now studying in Auckland and more interested in basketball, Liz said it was time to put the boots to better use.

"I've seen [the campaign] advertised for years now and I've had those boots for years and keeping them as some kind of history," she said.

"[Sebastian] loves football, he's so passionate about it, but we moved house recently and I guess that spurred me on to think I couldn't keep them any longer."

A former Huanui College student, Sebastian played for the Kamo Football Club as well as the formerly-named NorthForce team. At 16 years old and over six foot in height, his mother Liz said Sebastian's consistent growth meant new boots were needed every season.

"There was a little bit of coin involved but the good thing is they didn't wear out because they had to get a new pair every season because they keep growing, so they've still got lots of use left in them."

While she did have sentimental feelings towards some of the smaller boots, Liz felt the donation was worth it if she could help other children and families become more involved in sport.

"I think it's just such a cool thing for kids to be involved in sport so if someone's going to make use of them, that's great," she said.

"I just like to be able to pass things on, not chuck things out and contribute to the landfill."

Northland has about 3000 children playing rugby, and thousands more playing other winter sports, including rugby league, football, hockey and netball.

But sadly not all of them can afford the regulation footwear to participate in their chosen sport.

If you have boots or sport shoes in good condition that you no longer need, please drop them into the Northern Advocate building at 88 Robert St.

And, if you need boots, please contact us and we'll try to find a pair for you.

Before you drop them off, please give them a clean - and thanks in advance for your generosity. While the boots are for kids, bear in mind that some have large feet so larger sizes are also appreciated.

The Northern Advocate has been running its annual boots and sports shoe appeal, since 2012 and since then has helped provide sports boots or shoes to hundreds of young Northlanders so they can take part in sport.