Boots & Bras
Welcome to Boots & Bras, supported by Macron Sports Hub Edinburgh
How it works...
Pretty simple, if your kid has outgrown their football boots or sports bras, please donate them to us at various locations across Scotland. Then....
1. For boots in "as new" condition, we'll pass them onto a kid in Scotland whose family can't afford new boots; or
2. For the rest, we'll take them to Rwanda for the kids out there
Background....
3 times a year we take groups of Scottish youth players and coaches to Rwanda for 10 days of organising football sessions for kids of all ages, gender and ability. As you can see in the photo, taken on our last trip, it's not unusual for the kids to turn up with nothing on their feet, or just crocs. And for Girl footballers, sports bras isn’t a thing
So, through Boots & Bras we hope to help both kids in Scotland and in Rwanda
Many thanks in advance
How to donate your boots & bras…
Locations across Scotland…
Galaxy Sports, Little Kerse
Macron Sports Hub, Edinburgh
or contact us to organise a collection (min. 20 pairs)
Our friends at Macron Sports Hub Edinburgh have been supporting the charity for several years, donating a lot of brand new kit, kit bags, balls etc, so we’re delight to be working with them with Boots & Bras.
There’s literally a big box in the shop - just take your boots/bras and drop them in!
We’re looking for new clubs, venues and schools to get involved, to get Boots & Bras right across Scotland.
If you can help, please get in touch and we’ll organise your own Boots & Bras Bin
Where will your old boots & bras go?
In Scotland
There are many deprived areas in Scotland. For parents struggling to budget, football boots are not going to be a priority.
We hate the thought of kids missing out on everything that football brings - social interaction, healthy exercise and those unfortgetable moments on the pitch. And the joy of pulling on a new pair of boots..
Any New or “As New” boots donated to The Boot Locker will be re-homed in Scotland, through schools, projects and on request
In Rwanda
All the boots not fund a new home in Scotland will be taken to Rwanda on our 3 coaching trips each year.
Very few of the children we meet in Rwanda have a pair of football boots (unless we’ve met them before!)
Many only have one item of footwear (often just a pair crocs) which does them for everything in their lives - often walking miles to get to school. They do wear these for football, but often they have to play in bare feet
Our hope is to take hundreds of boots and bras on each trip
Not just boots & bras…
Boots are our priority, but please consider donating other items that have been outgrown - we promise to find them a new home with a kid who will genuinely cherish them….
Goalie Gloves
Shinpads
Football socks
Replica tops & shorts
Pathfinder Scholarship
Each June and October we take a group of 16-18 Scottish Youth Footballers to Rwanda. They spend 10 days volunteering with Rwandan kids of all ages, gender and abilities, helping us to deliver football sessions every afternoon
It’s an eye-opening, possibly life-changing experience, a different world from the 4G astros and general standard of living that most of the Scottish kids on our trips are used to
Admittedly, a trip like this is out of reach financially for many Scottish kids. Most parents contribute towards their donation, and even if they fundraise a large proportion they still need to have a strong adult network around them to do so
It has been one of our ambitions to be able to take Scottish youth players from less well-off backgrounds to Rwanda - theoretically the impact on their lives could be even greater
The Pathfinder Scholarship is our way of doing this.
Through the generosity and fundraising efforts of our volunteers, the charity is now in a position to take youth players to Rwanda who otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity
This scholarship is given to a young footballer who has shown determination, resilience and inclusiveness.
We expect The Boot Locker initiative to provide us with a connection to some of those players, through the schools, projects and individuals requesting boots.
However, if you are a coach, parents, teacher or project leader who knows a young footballer who desrevs this opportunity, please apply below