Sports clothing and equipment is a perfect example of a socioeconomic privilege and environmental issues – something that is so readily available for University of Michigan student athletes and yet can be as rare as a diamond for underprivileged youth. It is also a high waste material – worn out by hard working students or only half used for part of a season, and then frequently discarded. But it does not have to be that way. A group of five U of M Student athletes created SunBundle to solve both problems.
“The SunBundle was created to bridge the gap between underserved athletic communities with the gear and equipment that we have as student athletes,” SunBundle founder and CEO Yasmine Mansi said. “We have a lot to give. Recycling is also important for us because for [the importance of] sustainability, and also giving back.”
The Ross School student and her team were awarded $10,000 grant from the Sustaining Ann Arbor Together Grant. This is a city taxpayer funded program to help get neighborhood and community off the ground that help individual and the city to align with A2ZERO – A2s official program to make the city carbon free and 100% environmentally sustainable. This grant maxes out the 10% of the $100,000 yearly grant budget for the program.
RELATED: Ann Arbor Rain Gardeners Earn Leadership Awards
“This is a program that we have actually run for four [or] five years. This is something we started with our existing budget, recognizing that there are a lot of really creative sustainability ideas in the community, and we really wanted to seed those ideas and help a thousand flowers bloom in the community,” Ann Arbor Sustainability Director Missy Stults said.
SunBundle has only been around since 2023. They are currently taking in used or no longer needed athletic gear from across the U of M and redistributing through the “Delonis Homeless Shelter, Ypsilanti Public Schools, Community Action Network (CAN), The Konnection and The Corner Health Center” according to a press release from the City, with the assistance of the Ginsberg Center at the U of M. About half of what SunBundle upcycles goes to students and need, while the other 50% goes to housing insecure people, according to Mansi.
And they are just getting started. While SunBundle is very much an Ann Arbor focused operation at the moment, Mansi said SunBundle is planning on expanding to all Big 10 institutions in the future.
“We have two different SunBundles bundles for athletes and for unhoused needs. We found that the gear that we were collecting came in different conditions. The gear that was more sporty like spikes or cleats go to athletes, and the higher quality shoes meant for competition, like sneakers,” said Mansi. “But the more worn out shoes? We don’t want to waste them, and we find that in communities are unhoused, those are definitely in need, so those goes to our SunBundles for unhoused individuals. … The SunBundles for the unhoused population include more hygiene products, socks and more essential products, while the athletes’ SunBundles have jump ropes health and nutrition information… so there’s two different target groups that we work with, and in those situations we are recycling goods from athletes to give back to communities in need.”
As for the immediate moment, the press release also said that the grant will allow SunBundle to: “establish branch organizations in five different university campuses across Michigan and build and deliver 1,000 care packages in the next calendar year.”
The budget for the program that SunBundle took resets every fiscal year in July. It can be accessed on the city’s website.
Interested parents can access this equipment through community partners. Anyone who is interested in helping can participate in one of their regular “care package building events” – social events where you can help build pre-designed packages of equipment in a communal setting – where you can either show up alone or with friends. It is a similar set up to where you can socialize while doing good that Habitat for Humanity often uses. You can also make a donation on their website.
“It’s exciting to see a nonprofit dedicated towards helping young and excited athletes. It will give more opportunities that they may not have had before with the help of receiving some high quality, repurposed athletic gear,” Kayla Windemueller, of the U of M Track team, is quoted saying on the SunBundle’s website. “It also gives an opportunity for those donating to give towards a cause that they know is going to be helping athletes. It makes the donating athlete excited to support a greater cause, supports the non-profit’s cause, and give to those aspiring to be more involved in sports!”
Drew Saunders is a freelance business and environmental journalist who grew up just outside of Ann Arbor. He covers local business developments, embraces his foodie side with reviews restaurants, obsesses over Michigan's environmental state, loves movies, and feels spoiled by the music he gets to review for Ann Arbor!
