Ross has been collecting sporting gear for underprivileged kids since primary school! Now a varsity student, he has just visited the place where it all began to ‘play’ inspiration forward to the next generation of do-gooders!
Johannesburg, South Africa (15 April 2026) – This week, Ross Goodwin walked into Bryanston Primary and sat in his principal’s office. Well, his ex-principal’s office. He was there because 1000 kids were waiting to hear from him, and because his name is on the Honours Board.
He’s in his second year of varsity now, but he started his charity, Play It Forward Jozi, when he was just a young lad in that very same school. His mission has grown in leaps and bounds since then and his impact even more so.
Play It Forward collects gently used sporting gear and gets it to kids and communities who need it most. Car-loads full of sports gear to clubs in underserved areas. Soccer boots and balls, hockey bags and sticks to young players now inspired to take their love for sport seriously. That good work stretches far beyond Jozi, too – hundreds of kids as far as the Wild Coast have benefited from donations distributed by Play It Forward.
So this was a full-circle moment for Ross. When he came back to address his primary school’s
current pupils. He got to stand up on the same stage he once stared at.
“Ross got to see his old school from the other side, he sat in the principal’s office (not for being naughty), got to sit on the stage, got to speak from behind the podium and address 1000 children, whilst they all giggled at his cute BPS photos through the years. What a complete privilege to go back and chat to the children about what we do as a charity. The ‘oooohhhhs and ahhhhs’ were all so cute when Ross spoke to them about meeting the president, being interviewed on various radio stations and some of the donations he’s been involved in over the years,” Play It Forward Jozi shared.
The school gave its alumnus a warm and proud welcome. Beyond seeing his name on the school’s Honours Board, the institute announced that his charity will be the benefactor of their Community Outreach Team’s term 2 collections. Ross also left with a boot full of cricket gear kindly donated by a teacher and her family.
“We are incredibly proud to celebrate one of our very own — Ross Goodwin, a true Bryanston Primary alumnus who is making us all so proud! Ross started the Play It Forward Jozi campaign right here at Bryanston Primary, with a heart full of compassion and a vision to get sports equipment into the hands of children who need it most. What began on our school grounds has grown into something truly remarkable — and Ross is still going strong, now in his 2nd year of varsity, continuing to collect and make a difference!” the school shared.
Visiting the space where his impact first took afoot must’ve been a proud moment for Ross and an inspiring one for the young minds he got to inspire that day!
If you’ve got sporting gear collecting dust, Play It Forward Jozi will make sure it gets used. Find them on Facebook to reach out and make a donation.
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