June 17th, 2024 - Charlotte, NC - Charlotte Independence Soccer Club player, Dominic Mascioli, and his mother, Aimee Mascioli, worked on a service project this past spring, with the club, to collect old uniforms from players to donate to Peace Passers, a local non-profit organization that helps redistribute items to communities that have limited access to proper soccer gear.

The idea came to Dominic and Aimee last year when the uniform cycle ended, and all uniforms were being switched out at Charlotte Independence Soccer Club. They knew thousands of uniforms were being unused by players and wanted to find a way to give back to the soccer community. After some investigating, Dominic and Aimee found an organization in Charlotte, Peace Passers. Dominic and Aimee got in contact with Candace Murray at Peace Passers to collect and donate used Charlotte Independence uniforms. Candace works with many different organizations that are looking for supplies and donations. She was able to connect Dominic and Aimee to Walter Montes from the Charlotte Ministries, who was collecting items to ship to Honduras this Summer.

Dominic and Aimee started collecting donations in February and March of this year. With the help from Dominic’s teammates, 2008 North Meck Blue team, and the club, Dominic and Aimee were able to collect more than 100 uniform sets. They spent a Saturday sorting through donations and delivered them to Peace Passers, to ship to Honduras to be distributed to young players.

When talking about the vision and experience of this project, Dominic says, “It made me feel proud that I was able to work with my teammates to provide for kids who are less fortunate and don’t have all of the support and supplies to play soccer in their community. I knew I wanted to find a way to collect the uniforms and find a way to share them, but I wasn’t sure how to go about doing it. My mom helped me to make the connections and was an important part of helping me execute my vision.”

As a mother and former soccer player, Aimee felt close to this project. She says, “Being a soccer player myself, I know the joys of the game and how playing with your friends and your community can boost self-esteem and confidence, especially in a new set of uniforms. Because of the uniform switch out last year, I knew there must be thousands of uniform sets just sitting in the closets of CISC players. So, I was so happy to facilitate Dominic’s vision and use all of these perfectly good uniforms for players who may not be blessed to have soccer gear at their disposal.

The young players in Honduras received the uniforms this Summer and were excited. Aimee says, “I loved the smile on Dominic’s face when we got the text from Walter that had all those young players in Honduras were sporting Independence jerseys and the message 'These kids are so happy'. I want him to remember how good it makes you feel to make a positive difference in the lives of those who are less fortunate. Being able to do this together makes me feel proud of the young man he is.”

Aimee and Dominic plan to continue to contribute to this cause. They have already reached out to local school’s such as, Christ the King, for donations and have been successful. Aimee says, “If anyone at Charlotte Independence Soccer Club is willing to work on collecting uniforms a second time, Dominic and I would love to assist and find another group needing soccer jersey and support with supplies”.

Click here to learn more about Peace Passers.