Leveling the Playing Field Southeast Michigan

Our mission is to redistribute equipment to expand access and equity within youth sports and recreation programs in under-resourced communities. Our vision, is a world with no sidelines. Leveling the Playing Field was founded in 2013 in response to the growing inequity between those that can afford to play sports and those that cannot, and the prominent role the cost of sporting goods was playing in that gap. After working in youth sports, college athletics and professional football, our founder, Max Levitt, realized the volume of equipment that goes to waste from elementary school aged kids all the way up to our professional sports franchises. In response, he decided to develop essentially a food bank for sports equipment.

Did you know that 1 in 5 under-served households are not getting their kids involved in athletics because of the rising price of sporting equipment? Leveling the Playing Field (LPF) is a nonprofit that collects and redistributes equipment to expand access and equity within youth sports and recreation programs in under-resourced communities. Essentially, we operate a food bank for sports equipment. LPF collects new and gently-used sports and playground equipment from local youth sports communities. Volunteers then sort the donations in our warehouse so we can distribute the gear to schools and organizations working to provide an affordable and accessible option to under-resourced youth groups, community programs and schools throughout several markets.