Blake Miller, a senior at Palmer Trinity School who has chaired the Patriot Outreach program for the past five years, is coordinating the organization’s drive in Miami-Dade County to collect used — but still functional — athletic equipment, clothing and sneakers, which are sorted, boxed and shipped to the Dominican Republic.
These items are then distributed to imp o v e r i s h e d children in the Higüey and Punta Cana areas of the country. The recycled equipment and clothing givesthe Dominican Republic youth an opportunity to participate in athletics, much like the boys and girls do here in South Florida.
The Patriot Outreach members have been conducting the annual drive for 10 consecutive years and have collected more than 70,000 pieces of sports equipment, uniforms, shoes and related gear.
This year, the Patriot Outreach board is comprised of students from many local high schools. In addition to Miller, the board members are: Keaton Zargham, Ryan Booth and Jett Caplin from Palmetto High School; Gio Soto, Gulliver High School; T.J. North of Westminster Christian School, and Cole Hebble of Palmer Trinity High School.
This year, the dropoff location is at Suniland Park, 12855 S. Dixie Hwy. in Pinecrest. The hours for collection are Monday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., now through Apr. 30. There is a dropoff box in the front of the park office, where you can leave your donations.
If you have any questions, send an email to Blake at blakemiller1024@gmail.com.
