Social football for a cause
By Chris Young
In the impoverished nation of Cambodia, three hundred Australian dollars can go a long way.
A country savaged by civil war, it’s a far cry from the pleasant coastal township of Pambula.
As the Panther’s Football Club were running their AFL 9’s competition over spring and summer in the off season of 2012/13, many Cambodian families were without shelter, basic medical care, or even food.
With their burgeoning 9’s league proving to be a wildly successful idea, Pambula Panthers club president Bryan Hammond made the call to donate the profit they had made to a number of charitable causes.
Possibly the most outstanding of these donations has gone towards a home for five in Cambodia, which is currently under construction.
After hearing of a widow living in Cambodia with her five children and no roof over her head from a family friend, a quick decision was made to donate some of their money and help them out.
Mr Hammond said that the charitable outcome of the club’s 9’s competition was heartwarming, with the goal of running the competition simply to garner interest for Australia’s great game.
“Running the competition wasn’t a way for us to expand the Panthers footy club, it was just a way to keep up interest and have people around the club in the off season.
“The money we’ve made has come partially from registration fees, but the lion’s share has come from the canteen that we’ve run on game night, and very little else.”
After their initial expectations were well and truly exceeded, decisions had to be made about what to do with the profit.
“We put a call out to all the teams in our competition for ideas or good causes, and from that we’ve been able to fund a variety of causes.
“There was no specific reason to send some of the money to Cambodia other than ‘why not?’”
Construction of the house has benefitted more than just the family who will soon inhabit it, with a number of locals getting in on the act.
Family friend of the Hammonds and volunteer in Cambodia Sally Vernersally said the work was having a great impact on the locals.
“We met an 18 year old boy, whose father was a landmine survivor and a beggar, whose mother and younger sister had sadly passed away a year ago from starvation.
“He asked if he could help out, so I was able to arrange for him to do work experience with the Housing Repair Project team.
“His smile has gotten bigger and brighter every single day he’s worked.”
It’s unbelievable to think that all of this can be traced back to a few hundred dollars donated by a football club on the South-East coast of new South Wales.
With their current charity model proving to be extremely popular with teams in the Pambula AFL 9’s competition, plans are already in formation to donate and build again.
“While we didn’t set out to donate the amount of money we have when we began running the comp, there was certainly a focus on it being a not for profit endeavor.” Mr. Hammond said.
“I’m certainly both pleased and proud that the decision was made to help out like this, I think that all football and sporting clubs have a great ability to contribute to society in this way.”
“I absolutely encourage all other clubs to get involved in this kind of work, it has created a fantastic feeling around the club, knowing that we are giving back.”
Participation and Talent Manager for AFL ACT and South Coast John Love said that the community minded approach to AFL 9’s from the Panther was a fantastic example for other clubs to follow.
“For most of the teams to come up with ideas on what to do with the money, and for a variety of causes to be involved is fantastic.
