ST. LOUIS Park, Minn -- When former Gopher Basketball manager Drew Boe was a graduate student at Virginia Tech in 2012 -- he was assigned a project. To create an idea for a non-profit business.
“At that point in my career I was fortunate enough to have done a number of NFL internships and worked at a couple of different colleges,” says Drew Boe, Director at Managers on a Mission. “And I had accumulated an abundance of gear.”
So Drew combined the two things he had: His passion mission work and plenty of college and pro gear.
“So I had the idea what if I put it on eBay and sell it and that's what I did. And I was blown away,” says Boe.
Drew made enough money to pay for his first mission trip to Rwanda that summer. Where he saw a great need for that merchandise and equipment. Prompting him to create ‘Managers on a Mission’ in 2013. He reached out to his friend, former Gopher Head Coach Tubby Smith to get his first donation, 50 pounds worth of his old U of M gear Tubby would no longer use now that he was the head coach at Texas Tech.
“That 50 pounds has now turned into over than 200,000 pounds of gear that has come from college and pro teams all around the country,” Boe says with a big smile.
Now Drew's business has a warehouse in St. Louis Park, filled to the brim with everything from socks to spandex, cleats to caps.
Some of the merchandise is sold through their eCommerce site with that money funding mission trips for others. Some of it is donated to those in need like their "Keys to the Locker Room” event this Thursday at the Minneapolis convention center. Where they'll donate gear and equipment to kids right here in Minnesota
“When we're on our international trips this might be the first pair of athletic shoes or first ever sports outfit,” says Boe. “To be able to be a part of that is just an incredible feeling.
One that might not have been possible without one full heart and one full closet.
For more information on “The Keys to the Locker Room” and a registration click here. Or email is info@managersonamission.org
To purchase merchandise from ‘Managers on a Mission’ click here.