Local Students Launch Campaign to Help Kids in Fire Zones

When the wildfires hit southern California last fall, we all watched in horror as so many homes burned to the ground and so many families lost everything. Four 7th grade students at Campbell Hall in North Hollywood were among those watching that day, and it had such a strong effect on them they decided to join the many efforts underway to help the victims. Wondering what they could do that wasn’t already being done, Cooper Conran, Eli Sachs, Chris Cendrowski, and Matt Shuman created RePLAYce With Love.

RePLAYce with Love, which is being sponsored by the Campbell Hall/Argyll Alumni Association, is a simple, straightforward project. The boys will collect gently used or new sporting goods and distribute them to the children in areas hit by the fires. “We came up with this idea because all four of us participate in athletics in and out of school and know how important sports are to us,” said Chris Cendrowski. With families rebuilding their lives, and with so many suffering financial hardships in this economy, the boys realized that there was a real need for this, as replacing children’s sports equipment may not be a priority when you’ve lost everything. “Kids that have lost all their sports equipment deserve the chance to play again,” adds Matt Shuman.

RePLAYce with Love will kick off its collection drive for gently used and new sporting goods at the Studio City Farmer's Market on Sunday April 19th from 8am-1pm. After that, they will be collecting at Campbell Hall the entire week of April 20-24th with bins and signs all over campus. The boys will also have a collection bin at Vitello's Restaurant on 4349 Tujunga Ave in Studio City on April 20-24th. They welcome all kinds of sports equipment (list of suggestions below) but no uniforms or clothing.

The boys all agreed that sports are a great way for kids to have fun and get their ‘normal’ lives back… and they wanted to help to get that done. “Sports teach us important life lessons such as perseverance, respect, patience, and honesty, “says Cooper Conran. “These families have lost almost everything and the least we can do is give them a chance to enjoy sports again.” says Eli Sachs. RePLAYce with Love does just that......and so much more.

RePLAYce with Love is looking for donations of gently used and new sporting equipment such as…