Dave our SALT Founder shares some reflections on what’s being happening around SALT.
The past few months has been littered with valuable insights. To summarise, clubs are struggling. I have spoken to dozens of presidents, committee members, volunteers. They are exhausted and frustrated. After years of preparing to get their teams Covid ready and then not being able to participate, this year has been largely about finding players, volunteers and getting teams / athletes on the field / court etc.
The upshot of this is that sporting peak bodies, councils, other support networks are coming to us and saying that they want to empower us to help clubs, but clubs are often saying, we don’t have the capacity to do anything else.
This is starting to change now. There is a cautious optimism that maybe we are returning to some degree of normality. When we do turn up in clubs and run our variety of SALT programs, the outpouring of emotion, support and commitment to each other has never been higher.
Clubs have never needed support more than they do now and the understanding of their wider purpose in people’s lives is clearer than it’s ever been.
We want to thank the Phillips Foundation who have fully funded our next series of Clubs with Heart that is being tailored to run with clubs from gymnastics, hockey and softball. These are sports that don’t get as much sponsorship typically as some higher profile sports. We have wonderful relationships with each of the peak bodies of these sports who are helping to select and guide their clubs into the program.
The Indigo Shire Council have been incredibly supportive of SALT and the clubs in their region. The council have selected 8 clubs who will have a wide range of junior and senior courses and will all become ‘Clubs with Heart’ www.clubswithheart.com.au
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We have delivered wellbeing and mental health sessions all around regional Victoria in conjunction with Netball Victoria and Worksafe. Each of the clubs have then set up their own Wellbeing Teams who receive 3 online training sessions to become the eyes, the ears and the heartbeat of mental health support in their clubs.
Our funding from MTAS has enabled us to deliver many Drug and Alcohol sessions where we ask young people about how strongly they desire to be the best versions of themselves and where drug and alcohol fits into this. The conversations are really encouraging.
The Eastern Football Netball League and Shire of Yarra Ranges Council have also funded a wide range of EFNL clubs to have these same programs.
SALT will be working in conjunction with the Whittlesea Shire Council to roll out a suite of sessions focussing on reducing violence through sport.
Our Brownlow Medal Breakfast is coming up on Monday 19th September 2022 in the Medallion Club, Marvel Stadium from 7am – 9am. Our MC is former Channel 10 sports reporter Brad McEwan. We have Matty Richardson, David Parkin, Patty Kinnersly (CEO Ourwatch and Vice President of the Carlton Football Club), comedian – the Suburban Footballer, Mike Brady singing his Grand Final week suite of songs. We also have the premiership cup on display and the AFL have donated some great prizes. We get around 400 people who get to hear about the incredible work SALT is doing.