Each year, ClubsNSW hosts its Clubs & Community Awards, which offer an opportunity for its member clubs and partners to showcase their inspiring stories of meaningful community engagement.
This year, clubs are tackling the cost-of-living challenge in several creative ways.
Finalists for this year’s awards have been announced and include categories such as Social Inclusion, Heart of the Community, and Healthcare.
Under the Healthcare category, Bankstown Sports Club partnered with Eat Up, an organisation that aims to provide sandwiches and snacks to each of the one in four Australian children who experience hunger.
Bankstown Sports Club staff participated in a ‘Sandwich Making Challenge’, donating a total of 2,100 sandwiches.
“Our region is on the lower end of the socio-economic spectrum and we know families have really been doing it tough in the current cost-of-living crisis,” said Matt Star, the club’s Sport and Community coordinator.
Similarly, under the Heart of the Community category, Cronulla RSL supported Lennox Wade’s Snacktember food drive.
Wade started the foundation when she was only three years old, after learning at preschool that some children miss out on lunch.
The foundation has been so successful that it required a storage solution for donations.
“Cronulla RSL stepped in as not just a collection point but as the official storage and distribution hub for Snacktember in the Sutherland Shire, aka Snack Central.
“The final tally – 752 kg of donated snacks – the impact that collective generosity can have,” said Cronulla RSL Community Projects manager Natalie Hawkins.
Also falling under the Heart of the Community category was Gosford RSL, which launched Community Cash, a local currency members use at participating businesses to support and strengthen the community.
“Whether for fuel at a local service station, gardening supplies from a nursery, travel bookings through a local agency, medicine or retail purchases, it directly supports small businesses and their owners,” said Sharon Hulston, the club’s marketing manager.
Under the category of Social Inclusion, Club Central Hurstville contributed $40,000 to Georges River Life Care Community (GRLCC), a local not-for-profit providing community relief, domestic violence recovery and family support since 2007.
GRLCC distributes food collected from local businesses through ‘pantry’ and fresh food hampers.
“More recently, staff and volunteers have identified the soaring cost of living as having significant impact,” said Kylie Di Cesare, Club Central Hurstville marketing executive.
“Many have not previously faced financial hardship and food insecurity.”
Di Cesare said that since the program began, there had been a four hundred percent increase in demand for services and support.
Another finalist for the Social Inclusion category is Parramatta Leagues, which partnered with Dignity by volunteering and donating to supply food relief.
The club gave 352 volunteer hours along with $45,600 by cooking and distributing 3,800 free meals.
“Each meal was crafted with care and delivered to those in need, ensuring they did not have to choose between feeding their families and paying bills,” said Kylie Murphy, the club’s community manager.
To celebrate these and other initiatives, the black-tie awards dinner will be held on 19 June from 6pm at the ICC Ballroom, Sydney. Further details are available here.
