Navan mum kickstarts boot boost for ISPCC

With four sons and the three eldest playing football, Gemma Tighe knew all about kids growing out of football boots before they were hardly broken in. Over the years, she had seen plenty of boots in perfectly good condition but too tight for her sons Dylan (16) who plays for Dundalk and Ryan (13) and Adam (9) who play with Navan’s Parkvilla.

This gave her an idea- to have people donate their children’s old boots and gear and sell them on to raise funds for the ISPCC.
“I knew how quickly the boys grew out of things and thought people might be interested in buying them. Lots of houses have boots and gear lying around gathering dust. It is a great way to raise money for charity by selling them on. People have been very generous.”
Gemma’s initiative is only up and running about six weeks and already she has sold about 25 pairs of boots mostly through the facebook page ‘Parkvilla FC Donate & Sell for ISPCC’.
Gemma is involved with Parkvilla and brought the idea to the club and they were very supportive, as were the ISPCC. She has already had some small sales at trainings nights and hopes to hold some larger sales at the MDL in the coming weeks.
She is asking people to donate old boots and Parkvilla gear which are being sold on for €5 each.
People can view the items online and some children have come up to her house to try them on. “One little boy asked could he go for a run up the road to see if they would make him run faster. You have to smile at the innocence,” she said.

Gemma will hold a sale of boots and astroturf runners at the MDL from 9am to 3pm on Saturday, 30th September.
With back to school being a very expensive time for households, it is a great saving to parents to be able to buy the boots while also supporting a worthwhile charity.
Gemma hopes the project will grow over time and is keen to get word out there. She stressed it is not just an initiative for Parkvilla and any clubs can get involved.
“Anybody can donate from any club and anybody can buy. This is not a short term fundraiser. It is something I hope to build up over time.”
At the moment Gemma has about 50 pairs of boots for sale.
She explained that some of the boots were in perfect condition but said some were only fit for the bin and that is where they went. All the boots she gets are given a good cleaning and ones missing laces, she has replaced the laces.

To find out more about donating or buying see the facebook page ‘Parkvilla FC Donate & Sell for ISPCC’ or contact Gemma on (083) 8879393.