The good Cornellians can do: Melissa Reitkopp ’85

In 2013, Melissa Reitkopp '85 was looking for community service opportunities that she and her 11-year-old son Shane could engage in together. While searching the internet, she found a new non-profit in the Washington, DC area called Leveling the Playing Field (LPF). The mission of LPF is to expand access to sports gear for young athletes. Items like helmets, cleats, and protective pads can be cost prohibitive to purchase, and so LPF collects gently used gear and distributes it free of charge to coaches, PE teachers, and after-school program staff.

Melissa reached out to LPF’s founder, Max Levitt, who was then collecting and storing used gear in his parents’ garage. LPF’s mission was a good match for her son Shane, a sports enthusiast, and he eagerly jumped in to help collect gear for his peers. The first project Melissa’s son Shane (left) took on back in 2014 was helping LPF’s founder Max Levitt (right) decorate bins for collecting used sports gear.

Melissa used her talents as a career counselor, coach, and professional recruiter to help Max grow the LPF reach, team, and revenue stream. She and her husband served on LPF’s board for several years, and she helped develop a sustaining donor program, including spearheading a 10th anniversary gala in fall 2023, ‘Snazzy & Sneakers.’

“What started in Max's parents' garage has since grown into a nonprofit with seven, soon-to-be eight, warehouses,” Melissa says. “The community and local businesses donate gently used gear that volunteers then sort. The impact is enormous. A rural school that had never had a girls’ hockey team is now outfitting JV and Varsity squads. A local soccer league annually hosts a ‘Cleat Days’ (supplied by LPF), where every kid leaves with a pair that fits. It’s pretty incredible!”

Cornellians around the globe are sharing how they do good in communities big and small. Share your own story.