Sports-Gear Drive Exceeds Pleasanton Students' Expectations

PLEASANTON, CA — Pleasanton's whopping response to a weekend drive to collect used and new athletic equipment, a charity effort spearheaded by two local youth, overwhelmed the teen organizers from Amador Valley High School.

"The generosity and kindness of the people of Pleasanton shined, and we couldn’t be more proud of our town," said AVHS's Brent Friedman, who led the collection with fellow student, Monty Sage, for the school's Equipment for Everyone club to support underserved Bay Area youth.

Brent, Monty and the club are committed to obtaining a variety of sports gear to be donated to Boys and Girls Clubs "to help supply youth with the gear they need to play the sports they love," Brent said.

Convinced that "almost everyone in this town has a box of unused sports gear in their garage," as Brent said, the duo launched the drive held Sunday in Amador Valley's parking lot.

Brent was proved correct, apparently, as the three-hour event resulted in more than 1,500 items of such sports equipment as baseballs, basketballs, footballs, tennis balls, bats, cleats, gloves, helmets, catchers’ gear, softballs, golf clubs, lacrosse sticks, tennis rackets, skateboards and scooters being dropped off for the cause.

"Most donors said that they read about it on Pleasanton Patch website, which comes to us as no surprise," he added.

The haul was so massive, collected gear was stuffed away into multiple vehicles and will be handed out to Boys and Girls Clubs within the next two weeks, Brent said.

The two young "philanthropists," Brent and Monty, involved in "Boys Team Charity" since eighth grade, decided at the start of their junior year in high school that they would further the cause with "a charity of our own at Amador Valley High School," Brent said.

"Since both of us are involved in athletics, we agreed to focus on a charitable sports effort. The Equipment for Everyone Club was born," he said. "We contacted Boys and Girls Clubs, specifically those in Alameda, Oakland, and San Leandro, and we found that they were ecstatic to be involved in such a charitable cause."

"My co-founder and I would like to say a big thank you to all who came to support our cause," Brent added.

For those who still have unused gear and were unable to make it to the recent event, another collection is planned for the end of winter, organizers said. For further information, contact equipmentforeveryone@gmail.com.

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