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Camera IconThe Halls Head Football and Netball Club new jersey. Credit: Supplied<\/p>\nA club has turned their football jersey into a symbol of awareness to support a charity\u2019s fight against childhood hunger.<\/p>\n
Halls Head Football and Netball Club will now sport new jerseys for their Year 3 and 4 girls team this season, featuring the Backpack Buddies logo to help raise awareness about childhood poverty and food insecurity across the Peel region.<\/p>\n
Camera IconThe Halls Head Football and Netball Club new jersey. Credit: Supplied<\/p>\n
The jerseys were paid for by a recent grant and the idea to support the Bridge Builders\u2019 program came from the club\u2019s committee.<\/p>\n
The initiative shines a spotlight on the hidden struggles many families are currently facing amid the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.<\/p>\n
Halls Head Football and Netball Club\u2019s junior president Mark Neeson said the club wanted to use the opportunity to stand behind something meaningful.<\/p>\n
\u201cBackpack Buddies is doing incredible work supporting local children and families, and we are proud our girls can help raise awareness every time they step onto the field,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf more sporting clubs across Australia used their visibility to support local causes, imagine the impact we could have in our communities.\u201d<\/p>\n
The support from the club extended beyond the jerseys, with the club\u2019s older girls teams also choosing to donate $500 to the program after a recent pre-season tournament hosted by the club.<\/p>\n
The funds will help provide backpacks of food to local children experiencing food insecurity this school term.<\/p>\n
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Camera IconHalls Head Football and Netball Club’s recent donation to Backpack Buddies. Credit: Supplied<\/p>\n
Bridge Builders CEO Kelly Hinder said the partnership demonstrated the extraordinary impact local sporting clubs and volunteers could have when they come together to support families in need.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis partnership is a powerful reminder that community organisations, sporting clubs, volunteers and local families all play an important role in supporting one another,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur volunteers pack food every week for children who may otherwise go without over the weekend. To have young girls proudly wearing the Backpack Buddies logo on the sporting field and advocating for children experiencing hunger is incredibly moving.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is what real community leadership looks like.\u201d<\/p>\n
The club plans to continue supporting Backpack Buddies throughout the season, including plans for a community food drive later this year.<\/p>\n
Ms Hinder said the charity encouraged other sporting clubs, businesses and organisations locally, statewide and nationally to consider how they could use their platforms to support grassroots charities and raise awareness for important social issues impacting their communities.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor too many children right now, the biggest challenge isn\u2019t what happens on the sporting field, it\u2019s whether there will be enough food at home after the game,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n