By, Beth Burdette-Allen
Is your sports equipment crowding up your storage space? Are you no longer using that hockey stick or baseball glove? Are you looking to get your kids started in a new sport but worried about pricey equipment? If the answer is yes to any of these questions you should stop by Victory Sports located at The Eastern Hills Mall next to Duff’s Famous Wings. The hours of store-front opening are Tuesdays & Thursdays 4-6pm & Saturdays 12-2pm & donations are accepted in the curbside bin 24/7. You will see wall to wall sports equipment from every team sport you can think of. Doug, the founder of Victory Sports, decided to start the non-profit once he noticed his kids’ sports equipment laying around the house not being used. He wanted to reach out in a way that would have a positive impact and would encourage participation in sports for everyone. This is how Victory Sports was born which removes the financial barrier for families and provides affordable equipment. Doug says that the number one reason kids don’t start a sport is because the upfront costs of sports equipment. Victory Sports provides a sliding scale donation-based payment so you pay what you can. You don’t have to break the bank to start a sport and your contributions go to a great cause and that’s a win-win!
Doug has been an athlete, coach, specialized in sports apparel, was the community marketing manager of Dick’s Sporting Goods for Western New York, and had his own store. Doug has a love of sports that he generously shares with the community through the various programs that Victory Sports offers. Doug personally works with each family who comes in looking for sporting equipment and custom tailors for each customer with the right sizes and proper equipment. Victory Sports works with schools, coaches, and provides new equipment to them as well. They also have a Ball-Bin program that provides bins full of balls in local parks which are regularly refilled by volunteers. Kids can put the balls back after they are done or even take them home to keep! Victory Sports has done so much for Buffalo with its multiple programs for the last five years and we are thankful for their work!
Victory Sports is the place to go if you are looking to donate team sports equipment or find some team sports equipment, they have sports apparel, and more. If you’d like to donate gently-used-team-sports-equipment that still has life in it, Victory Sports has a few donation-drop-off points including their main store at Eastern Hills Mall on the left side of Duff’s Famous Wings. Their other drop off locations are throughout Buffalo which can be found through their website along with more information at victorysports.org . Discover716 will also have a drop off location coming soon which we will announce once it gets here. There are also volunteer opportunities available to anyone interested in community service as well. It’s that time of year for Spring cleaning so make your way to Victory Sports and check them out!
