Discover how The RePlay Project is making a difference in Cape Town schools by taking old sporting gear donated by residents and sharing them among underprivileged youth at various schools. Picture: The Replay Project/Instagram
One Sea Point resident is seeking to make the return to schools on Wednesday easier by supplying sporting gear through The RePlay Project. The RePlay Project, which was started in 2018, collects and distributes gently used sports goods, clothing and equipment to a number of Cape schools.
Project founder, Jodi Schiff, said that she has always been passionate about giving back but never knew how to quantify it, or make it part of her life in a way that would actually reach the people it needed to reach. She runs the initiative with Nicole Sherman, who is the programme director and coordinator.
“My son was an avid sportsman at school and even though I was a single mom, I always managed to get him the best kit and they had the best facilities. My daughter was a talented ballet dancer which was probably more expensive than all my son’s sports put together, so I started wondering, how do kids who don’t have the capabilities or the same advantaged facilities that my kids had, cope?
“What if there's a kid out there who could reach amazing heights with sports but doesn't have the option and if they don't have the option, what are they doing? And so the idea was born. I called it ‘The RePlay Project’ as the goods are being ‘re-played’ with,” Schiff said.
Thus far the project has been able to give donations to a range of schools and projects including Trevor Manuel Primary in Fisantekraal, South Peninsula High School, an Atlantis golf club, Restoration Youth Development in Scottville, Langa Bicycle Hub, Kuils River Tennis Club and Mitchell's Plain Cricket Club among others.
“My latest project is with Cape Town High School which started in October 2024 when I read an article in the Atlantic Sun about a passionate school teacher who, with three students, started a library at the school (the library closed during Covid). Although I knew it was splitting my focus, books and education for our youth is my passion and a pathway out of misery so I began a book/paper/stationery drive for them.
“I am still involved but have decided to do what we do best and focus on the sports side of it this year as the school doesn't have a sports department at all. When I met with the teacher, they didn't even have a single soccer ball on the premises! I was shocked,” Schiff said.
Schiff said that the ideal goals for the school for 2025 for includes:
“The need is huge. I can't emphasise that enough but I truly feel that we are changing kids' lives, one ball at a time. If, in all the years, we've changed or enabled just one kid's life, I have done my job.
“It is extremely difficult and time consuming as there is people or donor fatigue and I actually have a job but it's the most rewarding part of my life.
“What I really need is one big sponsor but it's impossible to reach out to the correct marketing people and these people are inundated with requests all the time, so I continue asking on the social platforms when I can,” Schiff said.
People who are interested in assisting in donations, can find any of the drop off points in Meadowridge, in Sea Point and in Woodstock. Schiff posts all the donations received to social media so people have transparency in seeing where their donations go.
“A lot of people don't want me to mention their donations so I post when I receive goods, when I hand them over and try to get pics/videos and post them,(with permission) afterwards. People are very happy to donate, but they want to see where their donations are going and I think it's important to show that the goods are being used how they were intended.”
theolin.tembo@inl.co.za
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