Tina Sernett, Founder of The Sports Shed, a suburban mom of two daughters who are active in sports, started the organization in January of 2009. She was motivated by her love of sports and passion to help kids of all demographic backgrounds to have some of the same opportunities as her own kids.
"It's insane the amount of money we parents spend on sports equipment for our kids! Many times buying the next latest and greatest thing long before it needs replaced. The accumulation of quality mitts, bats, soccer balls, basketballs, etc. in my garage got me thinking that there must be hundreds of kids who would give anything to have a fraction of this stuff that's not being used. NOW, multiply that by what's in the garage of thousands of others just like us... and we might be onto something!"
In March of 2009, The Sports Shed started contacting non-profit organizations like Girls in the Game, Boys and Girls Club of Lake County who provide sports programs to kids in low income areas. They had a huge need for quality sports equipment. Since a large portion of their budgets go toward staffing and programming, they were working with bare-bones sports equipment. The wish lists of items needed to better serve their kids came in quickly and we were able to start fulfilling their needs right away!
We now partner with over 25 organizations to provide quality sports equipment to them on an ongoing basis. See "Who We Help" pages of the website for a list of who they are and how we help their programs.
"I believe it's important to give kids the opportunity to engage in sports and physical activity. It benefits their health, confidence, and ability to succeed in life" says Tina. "God created all of us with a purpose and a plan. Being active and engaged in sports helps build a foundation for the motivation and hard work that is needed to carry out that plan."
