The Power of Sport
-Footys4all giving kids a sporting chance
By Kirstie Fitzgerald
For the Under 10s players at the Deer Park Football Club, it was just a regular Friday night training session.
Puffed out and rosy cheeked, coach Justine Curatolo called the group in at the end of training, where they were unaware that they would be leaving with their very own brand new football-something which a number of them had never had before.
With more than one third of the children’s families classified as low income earners, Footys4all Director Michael Gallus was more than happy to lend a helping hand.
“I speak as a representative of thousands of volunteers who believe in providing hope and a sporting opportunity to disadvantaged, underprivileged or socially displaced children to ensure all children have the same sporting opportunities that we have been so lucky to have in our everyday lives.”
Created over two years ago, the Footys4all Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation which aims at providing all children in need with sporting balls from different codes (basketball, tennis, rugby, AFL, soccer etc) with the hope that through the power of sport, children will feel like they can achieve anything.
Since its inception, the Foundation has distributed over 8,000 balls to disadvantaged children across Australia as well as internationally, reaching out to countries such as Cambodia, India, Africa, Fiji, New Zealand and East Timor.
Particularly in an era where football appears as more of a business model than a game, it can be difficult to comprehend the effect something as small as a new ball can have on a young child’s life.
“The kids absolutely loved them,” under 10s coach Justine Curatolo said.
“I bumped into one of the kids and his family at the local supermarket the next day and he had brought his football with him to the shops, which was really rewarding to see.”
Relying on the help of public and corporate donations to remain in operation, the Footys4all Foundation Director knows all too well the power a football can have on a child, currently coaching the Under 10s Aberfeldie team in the Essendon District Football League.
“We set up this organisation because no one in the world is doing this, no one has tried to change kids’ lives on a global level through sport…which is slowly but surely happening,” Gallus said.
“I’ve seen the power of sport and that if someone cares about you and gives you an opportunity, which we’re trying to do throughout the power of a new ball, great things can happen.”
Yet it is not simply the act of giving the footballs to the Under 10s players of Deer Park which was the most significant factor of this story, but the work behind the scenes which saw another WRFL club help raise the funds in which to do so.
Through the help of fellow junior club, the PEGS Junior Football Club, Footys4all was able to raise enough funds to purchase 400 new footballs, enough for Deer Park’s Under 10s team and more.
“The support from the PEGS Junior Football Club really demonstrates the good that is out there in the world,” Gallus said.
“We thank the 2013 PEGS Junior Football Club president Stephen O’Hare who along with 2014 president Mark Scathard saw the purchase of 400 Footys4all footballs which enabled the Foundation to distribute the balls to the children of Deer Park’s under 10s team.”
With the impact giving out a ball can have on a child fast gaining momentum, the Foundation is getting that much closer to reaching its goal of providing every child across the world with a ball.
“A simple $10 donation or ball purchase enables us to get a new ball of any code to kids in need across not only Australia, but throughout the world.
“We’re here to educate and teach people how to make the world a better place, and if we can do that through the delivery of balls to kids, then that’s what we’ll continue to do.”
For more information on the Footys4all Foundation, visit their website on www.footys4all.com.au
Last Modified on 02/05/2014 13:15