Around the earlier side of 2019, junior, Frankie Baio held a drive. In this drive, Frankie collected used sports equipment for those who need it.

Since many schools don’t have the equipment we do, this drive can help by collecting gently used sports and recess equipment. Through this annual event, Frankie helps schools all over the Chicagoland area by providing them with those items.

Frankie’s inspiration was, “seeing the situation some of the kids were in. I know that I have opportunities that others don’t. I want to give back to the city and the community.” The organization and the kids are a huge motivation for a Frankie, who wants to help out as much as he can.

In order to get the word out, Frankie relied on technology, using social platforms such as Facebook. Not only that, he emailed many families around the area and worked with both Loyola and the Chicago Fire Juniors Soccer Club to help plan. Frankie heard about this event through the organization that organized it, which is Urban Initiatives.

The drive was a great success and Frankie was very grateful for all the donators. If he were to do this drive again, he said he would start earlier since he got more items even after the drive ended.

Thanks to Frankie’s hard work and dedication to this event, he made it grow and helped many kids throughout the Chicagoland area have recess and sports equipment.