Steeler Super Bowl Champs Items Headed Overseas

Although the Steelers lost the Super Bowl to Green Bay Sunday 31-25, people in Armenia will be wearing clothing that touts the Steelers as Super Bowl XLV Champs. For more than 15 years, World Vision has received clothing from the NFL and sporting goods stores printed with what turned out to be the losing team’s logo. World Vision Sewickley office Corporate Relations Senior Director Jeff Fields says they already have about 300 shirts and 300 hats from the NFL that were in Dallas for the locker room celebration. He says more will be coming in from retailers including Dick’s Sporting Goods. He says he expects to see some sweat shirts coming in soon.

Fields says the clothing will be shipped to Zambia, Romania, Armenia and Nicaragua. If they have enough, they may add other locations. Fields has accompanied the shipments of erroneous merchandise in the past and says it is “life changing” for many of those who get the clothing. He says they are living day-to-day and many have no running water or electricity so getting a new piece of clothing is amazing. “The kids, and even adults, just light up,” says Fields. He says this is the silver lining to Sunday's loss.

World Vision takes donations of clothing and other items year-round and sends them to all corners of the globe. Fields says any company with surplus items can make a donation and they are always looking for volunteers to help sort the products.