West Morris Soccer Club Outfits Those in Need

Mendham resident and soccer mom Barbara Stanton will be first to give credit to the board of the West Morris Soccer Club and to the people of Mendham and Chester and beyond for the donations amassed for two charities this month.

But she was the one who got the ball rolling.

“Once my family and I came up with the idea, I approached the West Morris Soccer Club and asked if they would be interested in doing the drive. They were immediately receptive to the idea, and very supportive,” Stanton said. “E-mails and postings on their website immediately went out and they got the word out.”

The idea of a uniform drive came from Stanton when she learned her daughter’s West Morris Soccer Club team would be changing their uniforms for the following year.

“I wondered what I would do with her old uniform while at the same time, as a raising kids in a fortunate town, I am always searching for  ’teachable moments’ especially the ‘giving back moments,’” Stanton said. “Growing up in Brooklyn, I had many opportunities to give back to the community and this drive gave local families, as well as my own, an opportunity to give back.”

The drive triggered a staggering response.

• 134 jerseys
• 33 practice t-shirts
• 103 pairs of socks
• 93 pairs of shorts
• 55 pairs of cleats
• 3 soccer balls
• 15 pairs of shin guards
• Accessories (hats, water bottles, sports bracelets, cleat covers)

“Our goal was to outfit as many teams as possible,” Stanton said. “ And boy, did we.”

According to Stanton, her children Matthew, Shane and Maggie sorted the jerseys by matching color so each organization could outfit entire teams.

“We even matched socks,” Stanton said. “We then folded and packed the items for delivery. I delivered the donation for Beyond the Walls/Potterhouse to a woman in Chester named Diana Downs who volunteers at Potterhouse.”

Beyond the Walls provides funding and the manpower to an organization called Potterhouse in Guatemala. According to Stanton, the organization considers the scavengers of the garbage dump community as "treasures" and acknowledges them as valuable human beings and hardworking people in God's image

Beyond the Walls/Potterhouse received:

• 28 pairs of cleats
• 17  practice t-shirts
• 63 jerseys
• 45 shorts
• 8 pairs of shinguards
• 51 pairs of socks

 Stanton’s husband Matt delivered the second half of the donation to Soccer For All, which is a New Jersey based organization.

Soccer for All received:

• 27 pairs of cleats
• 48 shorts
• 71 shirts (30 greens, 10 yellows, 22 light blue, 9 oranges)
• 7 shinguards
• 52 pairs of socks
• 16 practice t shirts
• 1 referree shirt
• 2 flagger shirts with flags
• 3 soccer balls
• Various accessories (water bottle, hats, cleat covers, bracelet etc.)
• 6 long warm up pants
• 1 complete warm up suit (jacket and pants)
• 5 adult practice t shirts

At the center of the maelstrom of generosity, Stanton couldn’t believe the response the drive received. The drive ran from late June through the beginning of September in order to give folks traveling a chance to donate.  

“We kept a box on the front porch at my home and every day, my kids would bring inside all the items donated. Every day there was a new donation,” Stanton said. “It truly was amazing to see the generosity of the community.”

With the success of the drive this summer, Stanton has every intention of repeating it.

 “I would like to repeat this drive with West Morris Soccer Club, maybe every two years,” Stanton said. “My kids play many sports and every season they get a new uniform. I am hoping to do this with baseball, but on a larger scale. My family and I approached the owner of the Somerset Patriots Baseball team and we are now working on the details for a ‘donation collection’ night for local charities. We hope to hold this event at the beginning of the next baseball season.”