Magdalen Sparrow grew up on St. Louis’ soccer fields chasing after stray balls and picking up lost water bottles to put in overflowing lost and found bins. Then known by her maiden name, Magdalen Pike, she went on to play D1 soccer at Southeast Missouri State University, accumulating a closet full of sports gear in the process.
But unlike most people in her situation, Sparrow found a way to turn that clutter into something good. In 2023, she founded Passback, a nonprofit focused on redistributing sports equipment to kids, especially those from underserved areas.
As of Passback’s second fiscal year, it has recirculated more than 11 tons of plastic and metal items, directly equipping around 7,000 kids with sports equipment. “I think what has surprised me is that if you can find a niche that is a win win win, it’s pretty easy to make this change possible, especially if you get everyone on the same page under one mission,” Sparrow tells SLM…