Handoff — Play It Forward began its distribution efforts in July 2022 when Warren De La Salle High School donated blocking and tackling dummies to our charity, to be given to a school in need.
After a short search, we were contacted by Loyola High School in Detroit, which was desperately searching for usable blocking and tackling dummies — much of their equipment was torn, ripped and basically unusable. Handoff collected the equipment from De La Salle and delivered it to Loyola.
The Athletic Director, Dennis Morey II, also told us many of the student-athletes needed cleats. Many lacked the means to afford new ones — and one of his linemen wore a size 14, a difficult and expensive size to find. Our charity donated $1,000 to buy cleats for his offensive linemen.
Loyola's equipment needs didn't stop there. Catholic Central High School later donated four stand-up dummies and a slew of new shoulder pads — gear the program could not have afforded on its own. The pads replaced worn, poor-condition equipment, and the dummies finally retired the 30-gallon metal drums the team had spent years practicing against to simulate defensive ends.
