SOS IRB Kit Aid nears targets for 2007

(IRB.COM) Wednesday 21 November 2007

"As the year draws to a close SOS IRB Kit Aid is steaming ahead, closing rapidly on achieving its objectives and targets for 2007. Principal target, of course, is kit deliveries, which were hampered by unprecedented customs problems encountered for the first time ever with two new SOS countries for 2007 - Russia and Bosnia.

"These will be resolved in 2008 but in the meantime they have been replaced by Latvia, Lithuania and shortly Hungary - all of whom have asked for SOS help. We have another 53 countries on the SOS waiting list! By the end of the year SOS IRB Kit Aid will have completed delivering some £1.5 milion pounds worth of kit over five years!

"SOS was delighted with the great success of the smaller nations at the World Cup - notably Georgia where SOS has had a major impact in helping to develop junior rugby. If you want to help development in other nations then get behind SOS IRB Kit Aid and GIVE US YOUR KIT PLEASE!

"The launch of SOS IRB Kit Aid's new Community Recycling project - SOS Green - has been a great success. It has full Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme approval and is now being taken up by many schools in the United Kingdom. Did you know that the UK throws away three times as much waste as Germany?

"SOS Green encourages UK schools to adopt recycling projects for the long term - starting with rugby kit - but next year why not mobile phones, then ink cartridges, then paper etc?

"SOS continues to expand rapidly in Wales - please see our new Welsh SOS website www.soscymru.org.

"We now have five UK kit companies registered as official SOS kit collectors - Slugaruga in Scotland and Samurai, Kukri, Impact Sports and the Sportsshops in England - with more joining every day. This is a particularly cost effective way of collecting kit centrally for SOS.

"Many referee societies are now becoming regular kit donors - notably the Manchester, Leinster and Ulster Societies. New partnerships are being developed or expanded with Premier Rugby, Welsh Rugby Union, Irish Rugby Football Union, Gullivers, Touch Rugby, Tag Rugby and Golden Oldies all the time - so watch this space!

"SOS has also been delighted with the progress of Tour Aid and recently donated boots to virtually all the players at Tour Aid's fantastic U14 Nations Cup where teams representing Cambodia, Rwanda, Swaziland, Romania and Moldova amongst others all played with such enthusiasm and skill.

"At the invitation of the Rugby Football Union, SOS featured heavily at the exhibition of rugby at the European Union building in Brussels in August and was singled out for special praise by MEPS and Lord Maginnis of Drumglass in particular at a special rugby dinner in the evening.

"Many MP and MEPs are now joining SOS to support our progress. SOS has ambitious plans with other smaller nations in 2008 and we will keep you posted, but if you want to join in then why not visit www.sosirbkitaid.org now."