Well-known Northlanders JP Dignon and Joey Yovich wanted to help remove barriers to physical activity. Photo / Tania Whyte
A grassroots sporting initiative born by a pair of well-known Northlanders is on a mission to help locals of all ages overcome barriers to being active.
The ReSport Charitable Trust, brought to life by philanthropist duo Joey Yovich and JP Dignon, has upcycled former clothing recycle bins gifted by the Salvation Army and turned them into taonga where people can donate second-hand sporting gear.
“It’s just a small idea to collect old sports gear and repurpose it and give it to people that need it ... there’s such a need for it,” Dignon said.
But the taonga was a “small little thing that can make a big change”, he noted.
Yovich said there has been a decline in participation in sport, active recreation and play in Northland. Some of the barriers for participation are related to affordability.
It is an issue that is being felt nationwide as Active NZ Survey Insights 2021 statistics highlighted that a number of 8 to 17-year-olds don’t have the equipment to participate in sport, recreation and play.
Yovich said: “We wanted to find a way to give back that would support people’s wellbeing, people’s connection back to their community and to their clubs.
“People may say hey I’ve got a whole lot of gear that has sat there for the last 10 years that has only been used four or five times that can go towards someone potentially playing structured or non-structured sport or just being active that maybe was never going to because money was a barrier.”
So far, a bin - referred to as ‘our taonga’ - is already in action at McKay Stadium in Kensington and another in the mid-North. Plans for a third in Kaipara are underway.
The initiative, in addition to helping people overcome the often unaffordable price tags of sports gear, also aims to achieve social harmony by making physical activity accessible and thus inclusive.
However, it also goes a step further as it embraces smarter choices rather than “senseless consumerism”.
ReSport trustee Sharon Gibson said each piece of donated equipment has a “life force” that continues to pay it forward.
“Because kids are growing at such a rapid rate they are growing out of these shoes or boots, which can then be passed onto someone else.”
Furthermore, any gear not fit for purpose would be passed on via partnerships to be made into something helpful, such as rubber from shoes into tyres, rather than buried in a landfill.
Gibson said they were already seeing the benefits further north where some disadvantaged children had received donated boots.
“Just to be able to participate in a team, sports or activity had boosted their confidence and connectedness ... it can help their attendance at school and the way they interact with their peers, and support their interactions.”
Dignon said the taonga was essentially a vessel collecting gifts to “give back”.
And having something for Northlanders by Northlanders was crucial for the pair, Yovich said.
“Especially as the region has been so good to us.”
The idea came about on a drive to Russell when the friends, who support multiple organisations, started dreaming up ideas about how they could personally help struggling Northlanders access sport and other physical activity.
Empathy was a key ingredient for the initiative as both Yovich and Dignon know the power of inclusive play.
“I’ve had sport, fortunately, to play a big part of my life,” Yovich said. “From club to community to amateur level to professional level.
“To me, along the way, people have been able to provide that option for me to have quality experiences, a fun time in sport and make a lot of connections and I’m extremely grateful for that.
“What we’re doing is about that connection side and that social harmony that is a little bit lost in today’s world,” he said.
Sixteen-year-old Shakira Yorke was the first person from the community to donate sports gear.
The teen spotted a post about ReSport while browsing Facebook and thought it was a great way to pass on her unused hockey bag, sticks and shinpads.
“I wanted a kid to be able to play a sport they liked even if they weren’t able to afford it,” Lawrence said.
She had seen peers struggle to get into sports because of fees - especially when teams had to travel to play - and being able to pay for gear.
“I can imagine it can be quite tricky for some people.”
Lawrence hoped her donation showed that anyone could be a part of helping others through ReSport.
The simple gesture with the ReSport taonga has already amassed great support and attracted six local ReSport trustees that include Jeremy Tauri, Craig Crawford and Anna Hewitt along with Gibson.
“It’s definitely going to be bigger than just getting someone’s old boots and giving it to another child,” Dignon said.
Among the fans was celebrated rugby stalwart John Campbell.
The former Northlander heaped praise on the initiative as the kindness of others offering up their old gear had helped his daughters down south experience a taste of cricket.
While not through ReSport, the thoughtful act gave him an insight into how enabling and invaluable such generosity will be to others.
Even as a boy, Campbell said, his first cricket bat was given to him by a neighbour.
“Making sport more accessible to a wide range of kids means those guys are going to get to experience the lifelong friendships you make and all the benefits participating brings,” he said.
The trust has fielded huge amounts of interest from people eager to help in some way. Among them were prominent Northland sportspeople keen to be ambassadors. New funding opportunities are also of interest.
Gibson said there were no complications for people in need of second-hand sports gear to go through. They were committed to removing any barriers and doing so in a way where people could reach out privately to ReSport.
ReSport is set to showcase itself at a Charitable Chicks community fundraising event at the Kerikeri Sports Complex on Friday, May 19 before a much-anticipated ribbon-cutting ceremony at McKay Stadium Kensington the following day.
Anyone with second-hand sports gear in good condition or that can be restored can drop their donations at the available taonga (bins), or for bigger - which are also happily accepted - can contact ReSport via its website: www.resport.co.nz/donate, by email: info@resport.co.nz or phone: 0800 000 626.