Guilford Teen Creates Path to Sports for Kids

From the Children's Athletic Movement: A Guilford teen turned an idea into a community-wide effort that’s putting gently used sports equipment in the hands of kids who might otherwise never play an expensive sport like golf or tennis.

So far, organizer and Guilford High School junior Kam Miles has collected and given away over 3,000 pieces of new and gently used equipment. Miles said, “I created the Children's Athletic Movement (CAM) when it was clear that many underprivileged children who wanted to play sports weren’t able to do so, just because they couldn’t afford the equipment.” When Miles talked to local businesses, such as Jeff VonFlatern from The UPS Store, and St. George’s Catholic Church, as well as Guilford High School and Adams Middle School, the idea of a collection drive was well-received, and soon collection boxes were placed throughout these locations.

To date, the equipment has been donated to Domus, a nonprofit organization that operates schools and after-school programs for over 1,200 very low-income children from New Haven, Bridgeport, and Stamford.

Mike Duggan, executive director of Domus, said, “The donations Kam collected and delivered allowed us to initiate both a brand new golf and tennis program for the youth here. The families we support are choosing between food and medicine—they don’t have the luxury of buying or renting sports gear for their kids. Kam and his CAM donors are giving the youth of Domus a chance to play hockey, lacrosse, golf, football, tennis, soccer, baseball, and basketball. These sports teach important lessons like teamwork, courage, and discipline…traits everyone should learn, regardless of income.”

If you are interested in donating gently used sports equipment, you can find donation boxes at The UPS Store in Guilford & Clinton, St. George Catholic Church (in April) and Adams Middle School. More donations are needed, and every item donated will be put to immediate use. If you have any questions, feel free to email keepallkidsmoving@gmail.com.

Image via the Children's Athletic Movement