Youth soccer generates enormous amounts of gear that kids outgrow every season. Meanwhile, families across Charlotte and communities around the world can’t afford the basics that would let their kids step onto a field.
Play It Forward is Solaris United’s annual community gear drive. We collect gently used equipment from our families, sort and organize it with our players, and distribute it directly to local and international partners who put it back into the hands of kids who need it.
Every drive is player-led. Team captains and youth volunteers drive collection, organize logistics, and make the handoffs. The game teaches responsibility. This is where we practice it.
We Collect
Cleats & Indoor Shoes Balls of All Sizes Goalkeeper Gloves Jerseys, Shorts & Socks Shin Guards Training Gear
Spring 2026
Our First Drive
Every team contributed. Every family showed up. What started as a Spring Cleaning push turned into a club-wide statement about who we are and what we stand for.
🍦 Competition Ended in a Tie — and an Ice Cream Truck
A challenge was thrown to the club: donate the gear sitting in your closet that still has some time left.
Strangely (and proudly), every team contributed almost the exact same amount! Rather than bring out the scales to crown a winner, we celebrated all of you. An ice cream truck was on-site for the whole club as a thank you for showing up in such a big way.
Where the Gear Went
Cleats — Tagged & Boxed
Peace Passers
A Charlotte-based nonprofit that collects and redistributes used soccer gear to kids and communities with limited access to the game, locally and around the world.
Training Equipment
Soccer Foundation of Charlotte
Soccer FC provides free after-school soccer programming to Title I elementary schools across the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area, serving hundreds of students each year.
Apparel & Bags
Latin American Coalition
A Charlotte nonprofit serving the Latino community with advocacy, education, and direct services. Soccer gear was distributed during their Back-to-School Wellness Event.
Jersey Sets — International Shipment
Ghana
Hundreds of jerseys donated by Grace Academy were folded, packed, and shipped internationally so more kids on another continent could get on the field.
