Every child deserves a place to play.
Play it Forward is a charitable association founded in Torino, Italy, by siblings Giorgio Vittorio and Carlotta Mela Garuzzo, built on the belief that sport has the power to motivate, unite and transform lives. We build and restore courts, donate equipment and run free camps, to give every child access to the same passion sport gave us.
Three pillars of lasting impact
Everything we do falls into one of three things. They're simple, and we keep to them.
Build courts
We raise funds to build and restore basketball courts in underserved communities, permanent, safe places where children can play, learn and grow.
Donate equipment
We collect new and used sports gear and hand it directly to children at our events.
Equality in sport
Sport belongs to everyone. We want it to reach every child, girls and boys alike, wherever they live and wherever they come from. And we encourage the shyest ones to step in, explore and discover a sport they love.
The school court in Fatick, Before and After
Before
AfterSport is a universal language.
Two kids from different countries, with no language in common, can still pass a ball, celebrate a basket and walk off as friends. Sport keeps bodies strong and minds healthy, and every child deserves both. It also gives something harder to measure: joy, confidence and the courage to dream big. Those stay long after the end of a camp day, which is why we build places that remain, safe spaces in which the love for sport is all that matters.
Drag the photos around.
It started as a small idea.
In 2024 we had an idea: to have a positive impact through sport by collecting used gear and giving it to those who needed it most. A year later that idea grew into something much bigger, and we can't wait for what comes next.
…and grew into something bigger.
Who we are
Ñio Far · Insieme
Ñio Far means "we're in it together" in Wolof; Insieme is "together" in Italian. We chose it because this project is the story of what sport can do: it brought a boy from Torino and a boy from Dakar onto the same court at IMG Academy, made them friends, and years later brought both of them to Fatick to build something for the next generation. Two languages on one shirt, two flags on one backboard, one team.
The full project
United by playing
The courts were only half of Senegal 2026. In the same week, with Ndaw Académie's coaches, we ran four free camps for children from local schools, clubs and sports academies: two on the new courts in Fatick, one in Thiès and one in Dakar.
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Basketball camp, Fatick stadium
↻Drills, games and a giveaway on the renovated double court.
100+ children
Basketball camp, school court
↻On the new court at the CEM Khar Ndofenne Diouf school.
50+ children
Football camp, Thiès
↻Football with a local academy in Thiès.
50+ children
Multi-sport day, Dakar
↻An Olympic-style day with the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games committee and a group of Special Olympics athletes.
250+ children
The next project is taking shape.
Play it Forward is already working on its next project. We'll share it as soon as it's ready; follow @playitforward.it on Instagram to hear first.
Help us build the next one.
Every euro donated goes to courts, camps and equipment for children. Nothing goes to salaries, we don't have any.
SupportWhat we've built
It started with a collection of unused sports gear in Torino. Two years later, we were opening basketball courts in Senegal. Here's how we got there.
Ñio Far · Insieme
Ñio Far means "we're in it together" in Wolof; Insieme is "together" in Italian. We chose it because this project is the story of what sport can do: it brought a boy from Torino and a boy from Dakar onto the same court at IMG Academy, made them friends, and years later brought both of them to Fatick to build something for the next generation. Two languages on one shirt, two flags on one backboard, one team.
Our biggest project so far: three basketball courts in Fatick, four camps and equipment for hundreds of children, delivered with Ndaw Académie and funded by more than €18,000 from our donors.
A new court for the CEM Khar Ndofenne Diouf school
Built from the ground up and named Ñio Far at centre court.
BeforeAcrylic surfaceHand-painted linesFIBA hoops and backboardsÑio Far at centreSchool name on the sidelineAfterThe Fatick stadium double court, renovated
Fully resurfaced with new hoops, backboards and fencing: now the home court of the Fatick Basket Club.
Before
Fully resurfacedNew backboardsNew fencingBoth logos paintedAfterUnited by playing
Tap a card to flip it.
Basketball camp, Fatick stadium
↻Drills, games and a giveaway on the renovated double court.
100+ children
Basketball camp, school court
↻On the new court at the CEM Khar Ndofenne Diouf school.
50+ children
Football camp, Thiès
↻Football with a local academy in Thiès.
50+ children
Multi-sport day, Dakar
↻An Olympic-style day with the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games committee and a group of Special Olympics athletes.
250+ children
Inside the camps
Pick a camp, then flick through.
Basketball camp, Fatick stadium
Drills, games and a giveaway on the renovated double court.
Basketball camp, school court
On the new court at the CEM Khar Ndofenne Diouf school.
Football camp, Thiès
Football with a local academy in Thiès.
Multi-sport day, Dakar
An Olympic-style day with the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games committee and a group of Special Olympics athletes.
Swipe, tap the photo, or use the arrows.
Equipment that stays
More than 200 pairs of shoes, 100 basketballs and 50 footballs, cones, agility ladders and training kit, plus a camp shirt and bracelet for every child. All of it handed directly to participants and to local coaches, so sessions keep running all year.
Where it started
It started with a simple idea: collect the sports gear people no longer used and give it to children who needed it. Our first fundraiser raised more than €3,000, and over 200 items, shoes, balls and kits, went directly to children in Italy facing difficult circumstances.
What's next
Our 2027 project is taking shape. Follow @playitforward.it on Instagram to hear first.
Two siblings, one belief
We've both felt the joy sport brings to a life, and we've watched it do the same for the people around us. As a professional player, Giorgio saw it in the children who came to greet him: the light in their eyes, the feeling that they could dream big. That's what we want to pass on.
Giorgio Vittorio Garuzzo
Co-founder. Played professional basketball in Serie A2 for Reale Mutua Basket Torino; IMG Academy alumnus, now a student at Bocconi University.
Carlotta Mela Garuzzo
Co-founder. Fenced internationally for seven years and captained her school's volleyball team; now a student at IE University.
How we're organised
Play it Forward is a volunteer-run association based in Torino, Italy. Carlotta is our treasurer, and neither of us takes a salary.
Ndaw Académie
Founded in 2022 by Colin Lamine Ndaw and his sister Dieynaba, Ndaw Académie opens opportunities for young people in Senegal through sport and education. Colin played for Senegal's U18 team and Division I basketball at William & Mary; Dieynaba played at Duke and for the Senegalese women's national team. Giorgio and Colin met at IMG Academy: two teenagers from different continents who would never have crossed paths without basketball. This project comes from that friendship, and it is the reason we believe in sport as a way to bring people together. We are deeply grateful to Colin, Dieynaba and everyone at Ndaw Académie. They welcomed us, ran the camps with us and made Fatick possible.
Visit ndawacademie.org
Support the next project
Every euro donated goes to the project: courts, camps and equipment. We have no salaries and no office.
Donate on GoFundMeWays to support us
Where the money goes
Approximate split of the 2026 spend
What your donation does
Indicative amounts, based on 2026 prices.
