A Win-Win Situation

I'd always wondered what happened to the championship gear that was made up in advance for the team that ended up losing. It turns out, World Vision has a program set up to deliver the unsellable clothing to families in need around the world. You can see their full article here, or check out the snippets below:

Super Bowl: Children in need benefit from brand-new clothing printed for losing team

Even though they didn't win the Super Bowl, the New England Patriots will still be champions in several countries around the world. Before major NFL events, like the Super Bowl, participating teams often pre-print victory apparel. The winning team sells its items right away, but the losing team is left with large quantities of merchandise that cannot be sold.

In this case, World Vision is partnering with the NFL and Reebok to help children in need receive the treasure of new clothing. Instead of throwing it away, the losing team's pre-printed victory apparel will bring joy to children in need around the world. For many of the recipients, these will be the first new articles of clothing they have ever owned.

After the 2007 Super Bowl game, a significant portion of the apparel for the Chicago Bears — last year's losing team — was distributed in Zambia, and the rest went to areas of Chad, Chile, Bolivia, Democratic Republic of Congo, El Salvador, Zimbabwe, and Romania.

Read an article here about a similar partnership between World Vision and Major League Baseball, which provided excess postseason apparel to flood survivors in the African nation of Ghana.

Thank God for the gift of brand-new clothing that Mihaela, Paula, and Gabita received through World Vision's partnership with the NFL and Reebok. Pray that this partnership and others like it would continue to benefit children and families around the world who are in need of basic necessities like warm clothing for the winter months.

Donate now by clicking here to help World Vision ship and distribute the donations of clothing and shoes we have received from generous American manufacturers. Your gift will multiply 14 times in impact to help keep children warm in 20 countries around the world.