A combined $4,800 grant from Coles is set to provide little athletes from the Yarra Ranges and Sherbrooke Little Athletics with new equipment for the season.
The latest round of grants from the Coles Little Athletics Community Fund takes Coles’ donation to grassroots Little Athletics centres to more than $2.2 million in four years and will help centres buy new sports and safety equipment such as javelins, discuses, hurdles and defibrillators to support aspiring athletes and community volunteers.
This year’s grants have been made possible with money raised by Coles, its banana growers and customers during the inaugural Coles Little Athletics Banana A-Peel held earlier this year, when 10 cents of every kilogram of Cavendish bananas sold in Coles supermarkets was donated to the cause.
Yarra Ranges Little Athletics President Max Savill-Bentley welcomed the $3,300 funding boost to the Mount Evelyn-based centre.
“With this grant, we’ll be able to buy a new gazebo, junior hurdles and a Seiko stopwatch/printer to support our volunteers and athletes alike,” he said.
“Our centre relies on volunteers giving up their time and to be able to provide them with a user friendly, seamless, and ultimately an enjoyable experience will not only help retain their services but, we hope, would promote greater overall community volunteer engagement.”
Sherbrooke Little Athletics President Lachlan Scott said the Coles grant will help the centre to continue to provide a safe and quality program for its athletes and volunteers.
“The committee of Sherbrooke Little Athletics Centre makes a committed effort to keep participation fees low every season in order to allow a wide range of families to join our club and grants like the Coles Little Athletics Community Fund helps us to achieve this,” he said.
“This grant will enable us to purchase new marquees, chairs and tables to provide shade and more comfort for our parent volunteers and athletes. We’ll also be to buy heavier shot puts and discuses to cater for the new Under 17 age group that Little Athletics Victoria has introduced this season.”
Coles Acting State General Manager Daniel Ellul said Coles was delighted to continue to support grassroots Little Athletics centres in Victoria through initiatives like the Coles Little Athletics Community Fund and banana donations.
“Coles has been a proud supporter of Little Athletics for over five years, and we’re delighted to provide over $50,000 in sports equipment grants to Victoria’s Little Athletics centres to help them gear up for this season,” he said.
“We know very well the impact the pandemic has had on local clubs and communities over the past two years, and we hope these grants will help them to recover and look forward to a new Little Athletics season ahead.”
More than $250,000 in sports equipment grants were distributed to 73 Little Athletics centres across Australia in the latest round of grants from the Coles Little Athletics Community Fund. Since the Fund was established just four years ago, Little Athletics Victoria centres have shared in nearly $500,000 from money raised and donated by Coles and its banana growers and customers.
In addition to the distribution of sports equipment grants, Coles will continue to support Little Athletics centres across Victoria with banana donations from local supermarkets throughout the season.
