One summer night, Macie Carlos ’27 realized just how much functional athletic gear was being thrown away on campus. An Environmental Fellow with the Sustainability Office and a varsity athlete on the University’s Women’s Tennis team, Carlos stayed awake until 5 a.m. that night and devised what would ultimately become Play It Forward.
What is Play It Forward?
Play It Forward, the first student-led program to collaborate with Wesleyan Athletics and the Sustainability Office, introduces bins to collect gently-used athletic shoes and athletic apparel from the University community.
“We have three main goals,” Carlos said, naming the first two goals as aiming to reduce waste and redistributing resources to local communities in Middletown. “And the third is to foster inclusivity by welcoming contributions and participation from anyone, regardless of race, religion, gender identity, socioeconomic background, [or] ability.”
Carlos said the idea came from her personal experience as a varsity athlete.
“I go through one to two pairs of shoes every semester,” she said. “And even though these shoes are still fully functional, [once they] no longer serve me, I just throw them away. And I’m sure this is the same for other athletes here.”
Upon this realization, Carlos spent the next few months developing the project. She began partnering with the Sustainability Office, reaching out to Athletics staff, community partners, and campus organizations to build a framework for the initiative.
“I basically spent the entirety of May, June, and July of the summer planning this [project] out,” Carlos said. “I sent emails to [Sustainability Director Jennifer] Kleindienst and [Assistant Athletics Director Jeffrey] Place, and I also talked to [Jewett Center for Community Partnerships Director] Clifton Watson to help me.”
Then, on Monday, Sept. 15, she officially launched Play It Forward.
How does the program work?
Large donation bins are now stationed outside the Freeman Athletic Center and at the Middletown Recreation Center, with more bins planned for the police department and temporary bins for major University sports events.
The process works in three steps. First, students donate gear in the bins. Next, Carlos screens and sanitizes all donations. Finally, she distributes everything to the Middletown partners.
Play It Forward currently partners with Middlesex United Way, the Middletown Police Activities League (PAL), and the Middletown Recreation Center to ensure that the donations go directly to individuals and programs that need them most.
“I wash [the gear and] then I sort [it] into three bins for distribution,” she said. “I disinfect and sanitize the shoes to make sure they’re in good condition, and then I distribute them equally among the three groups.”
Along with reducing waste, Carlos expects to increase access to sports equipment for children and teens in Middletown. In her conversations with the Middletown PAL, she saw that some participants in youth athletic programs who come from low-income families cannot afford the gear necessary to play certain sports.
Community partnerships and program outreach
“The police chief who runs the [Middletown PAL] program explained that some of the students could be inspired by playing sports or can use [sports] to help get into college,” Carlos said. “All these opportunities through sports [could] be made accessible to them if they have the right sports gear.”
Support for the program has already been strong.
“I’ve talked to the Student Athlete Advisory Committee, and they’re going to announce [Play It Forward] tomorrow for their meeting,” she said. “I feel like we’re gaining more traction around Middletown than we expected. Middletown Recreation Center, for example, is handing out brochures.”
Carlos was also invited to speak at the Student Sustainable Leaders Symposium, an annual conference that brings together students from universities across the Northeast for peer-to-peer sustainable education and engagement programs. She hopes to use this platform to share the Play It Forward model and inspire other schools to launch similar initiatives.
Since the program is relatively new, Carlos’ biggest challenge has been outreach.
“My personal goal for this project is for it to be institutionalized, so that it becomes a regular thing that students do even after I graduate,” Carlos said, “but right now, not a lot of people know what [Play It Forward] is, and our donation [rate is] still very low.”
To help boost engagement, Carlos is planning to recruit team ambassadors from each varsity and club team.
“One step that I want to take moving forward is getting team ambassadors, who are representatives from each varsity and club team,” Carlos said. “I [can] give announcements to these team ambassadors, [and they] can tell their team and say, ‘Hey, if you’re going to [discard] your shoes or clothes you no longer need, just put them in the bins.’ I think that’s the most important thing [right now].”
When it comes to equity and sustainability, Carlos believes that impact starts small.
“There are just so many ways people can help,” she said. “Not only can people drop off things that they no longer need, but it’s also a convenient way to make an impact in the community. No matter how small, people are always welcome to do something to contribute to the community.”
If you’d like to get involved, contact Macie Carlos at wesplayitforward@gmail.com.
Claire Farina can be reached at cfarina@wesleyan.edu.
Lyah Muktavaram can be reached at lmuktavaram@wesleyan.edu.
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