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Replay Sports Cards to donate 1 million cards to Chicago youth

Carolina Panthers kicker Eddy Piñeiro drops off a Replay Gives Back donation at the Boys and Girls Club in Charlotte, N.C. This week, Replay Sports Cards will donate 1 million cards to more than 40,000 youth in Chicago to "grow the hobby" of card collecting. Photo by Replay Sports Cards July 28 (UPI) -- A national sports card franchise plans to donate 1 million cards to more than 40,000 youth and teens in Chicago to "grow the hobby" of card collecting and "spark the sense of wonder in a kid opening their first pack." Replay Sports Cards, which is dedicated exclusively to card collecting, will make the donation this week at the 2025 National Sports Card Convention in Rosemont, Ill. The convention runs from Wednesday through Sunday at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center. "We're passionate about growing the hobby and making it more accessible," said Mike Martin, co-founder of Replay. "Too many children are priced out of collecting today, and we want to change that." "Replay Gives Back" will donate the cards to youth-focused organizations, including the Boys & Girls Club of Chicago and Noah's Arc Foundation. "The excitement of opening a pack of cards is timeless, and Replay Gives Back is our way of sharing that joy with kids who've never had the chance," said Brent Schepel, co-founder of Replay. "It's about inclusion, generosity and building the future of the hobby, one card -- and one child -- at a time." While Replay encouraged convention attendees and collectors to bring their unwanted cards, the company has already taken in more than 1.5 million trading card donations -- including Upper Deck, Topps and Pokémon -- since launching the campaign last November. "We're seeing a tidal wave of new interest in sports cards, and we built Replay to meet that wave with the infrastructure and innovation today's collectors expect," said Mike Weinberger, co-founder and president of franchising for Replay. "But none of it matters if we don't bring new generations into the hobby. At its core, Replay Gives Back is about expanding access," Weinberger continued. "Sparking that sense of wonder in a kid opening their first pack," Martin added, "there's nothing like it."