About a year ago, the Campbelltown Warriors decided they needed to be more than just a footy club.
They came up with an idea that would teach their young players the importance of making the right choices in life.
Boots in Macarthur was the brainchild of president Scott Galvin and it involved select members of the club’s under 15 and under 16 teams volunteering to help out in a local community kitchen that feeds homeless people.
“We wanted to make sure that rugby league provides a positive pathway to those who take it up,’’ Scott said.
“We don’t just want to focus on winning games, but also winning off the field, where we will really benefit our young players and their families.
“Like all young people they can sometimes stray from the straight and narrow, so Boots in Macarthur is all about educating our players about how important it is to make the right choices in life.
“We realised we needed to be more than just a footy club.’’
A few weeks ago, the Campbelltown Warriors players who volunteer for the St Vincent de Paul Nagle Centre in Iolanthe Street every Wednesday night were featured on Channel 9’s Footy Show.
Viewers would have quickly seen why Boots in Macarthur was such a great initiative.
The Campbelltown Warriors boys – and three Wests Tigers stars, James Tedesco, David Nofoaluma and Mitchell Moses – were filmed preparing the food before serving it to local homeless people.
And then the young league players sat down and chatted with some of the homeless who had popped in to the Nagle Centre for a hot dinner.
This is the kind of priceless education that only the “university of life’’ can give such young people and as the Footy Show showed, the Warriors are on the money with Boots in Macarthur.
Scott Galvin says working at the community kitchen has already had a profound impact on the lives of these young men.
“On top of learning to understand the importance of making the right choices in life, our players have also picked up some good business skills as they got involved in the preparation and organising of the food for Wednesday nights at the Nagle Centre,’’ he says.
But there’s more to Scott Galvin’s idea: Boots in Macarthur is just one half of a two part community program.
The second is called Boots at Sea and it involves sending the young players to a Pacific Island as the game’s ambassadors to spread the rugby league gospel.
“It’s part reward for them volunteering in the community kitchen, but Boots at Sea is also about giving back to those less fortunate than themselves; about making a difference in other people’s lives,’’ Scott says.
Boots at Sea will take place in November when about 10 boys from the under 16 and under 15 Warriors teams fly out to Fiji.
There the boys will spend a couple of nights living and working in some local villages as well as visiting local schools to run rugby league coaching clinics.
They will also hand out rugby league gear such as boots and other equipment.
The NRL Development unit will train the boys in a number of skills, including coaching.
Scott Galvin says the club is still trying to raise money to make sure all the boys get on the Fiji Airways flight to the Pacific Ocean in November.
“We are grateful for the corporate support we have got so far, so a huge thanks to ACK’s Haulage and GLG GreenLife Group,’’ Scott said.
“But we are still looking for more corporate partners to support the Warriors community programs such as Boots for Macarthur and Boots at Sea for this year and into the future.’’
If you want to align your business with a great initiative like Boots for Macarthur, contact the Campbelltown Warriors.
• To watch the Footy Show story on the Campbelltown Warriors click here.
