Aside from mountains of paperwork to fill out, hours of wellbeing interviews and, basically, making good things happen in our footy community, we asked National Wellbeing Lead, Chloe Minehan, to share some of the things she has been doing lately. Here are some brief points:
Tyler Crossley Wellbeing Visit
- Friday July 5th, we attended the Children’s Hospital at Westmead to visit 7-year-old Tyler, who has just been diagnosed with leukemia, and were joined by his mum, Bianca, and grandfather, David
- Tyler plays rugby league for Picton Magpies in their under-8s teams
- We presented Tyler with two Parramatta Eels Jerseys. One signed by the whole team, a parramatta hat and a parramatta scarf. We could not wipe the smile of Tyler’s face
- Tyler’s grandfather, David, reached out to us to see if there was anything we could do to lift his spirits, as David used to be very involved with Men of League in the past
- The day was a very rewarding and heartfelt experience which proved what we do helps those in many ways.
Matty Johns Footy Show
- Sunday 7th July – Joined some of our Family of League team in the show’s audience.
- Our CEO, Stephen, and National Events Manager, Doug, had the opportunity to go on camera and thank everyone for coming and also shared information about our Foundation as well as the Crazy Sock fundraising campaign
- All up, an amazing experience – just being in the same room as the MJFS crew was amazing and the atmosphere was incredible.
Illawarra Junior and Senior Clubs Meetings
- On Monday July 22 and Monday 19th August, myself and Ray Beacroft (Illawarra Wellbeing Officer) were invited by Head of Illawarra Football, Brent Pigram, to present a talk to the junior/senior clubs of the Illawarra region
- We were given 15 minutes, in which Ray and myself spoke in front of all the clubs
- We handed out flyers which contained information about who we are and what we do, in regard to our wellbeing programs and support we provide
- We explained in detail, discussing grants and how an individual may be able to contact us who may need support
- Ray spoke about the upcoming Family of League events and how the majority of our funding comes through fundraising. Ray spoke about how he is here to help and the importance of reaching out to him
- There were many positive outcomes from these meetings – with referrals from clubs for potential wellbeing cases.
Illawarra Bowls Day
- Friday 26th July – attended the Illawarra Bowls Day at Warrilla Bowls and Recreation Club
- Over 120 individuals in attendance, which was a breakfast and bowls event followed by lunch upstairs – 140 filled the room to enjoy a wonderful meal
- I assisted the committee with selling raffle tickets and was amazed by the amount of support and tickets sold
- I was also given the opportunity to make a speech on behalf of the Foundation, and spoke about who we are and what we have been doing in the wellbeing space… including the support we have provided to the Illawarra Region through the help of the committee.
Minchinbury Jets ‘Back to Jets’ Day – 30 Year Celebration
- Saturday 27th July – Family of League were invited to setup a tent at one of our Corporate Members 30-year Celebration: The Minchinbury Jets Rugby League Club
- That morning, myself, Luke Bellamy, Doug and Jack attended the tent at their local club ground where we signed up new members, sold raffle tickets and made ourselves known to the local community
- Members of the community came up and asked us questions and asked how we may be able to offer assistance
- This weekend was also our Crazy Sock round, so we observed teams wearing Crazy Socks from a variety of clubs.
Central Coast KOC
- Tuesday 30th July – Myself and Grace attended the Central Coast KOC (Kick Off Club) at the Grand Hotel, Wyong. This was the Central Coast committee’s first KOC… and what a turnout!
- Before the KOC started, the annual AGM was held where I had the chance to present a short speech explaining how the wellbeing activities have been going and the annual wellbeing spend so far this year
- A new president was elected, and it was good to meet all the new committee members face to face
- Following this, we enjoyed dinner/drinks and Greg Florimo (Ex North’s player) was then introduced as the guest speaker. He spoke about his past playing days/coaching career, and his current activities with the North Sydney Bears as their wellbeing manager.
Penrith Committee Sponsor Meeting
- Friday 16th August – Myself, Doug and Col Barton (President of Penrith Committee) met with Zenn Ability CEO and Founder, Laurie and Daniel Slade, to discuss their potential onboarding as corporate members
- Laurie and Daniel run Zenn Ability, which is a disability support company, and are heavily involved with the Penrith Panthers. The work this company does is amazing and I walked away from this meeting feeling overjoyed with the support they want to provide to us… and what they do for members within the community
- We concluded the meeting by also inviting them to join us at our upcoming National Lunch at Canterbury Leagues Club.