Thanks to our community partners
Power Community Ltd - the community development arm of the Port Adelaide Football Club - has thanked the many partners who helped deliver our widely acclaimed work away from the playing field in 2012.
They were acknowledged at a breakfast in Adelaide attended by 80 people including representatives of the partner organisations and staff from Power Community Ltd and the club.
Power Community Ltd chairman Simon Forrest said the organisation could not perform the role it does without significant financial support.
"Power Community Ltd simply doesn’t exist if there are no community partners,” Mr Forrest told the function.
"More importantly … the community development programs and the community development itself doesn’t exist without community programs.”
Power Community Ltd underpins the Port Adelaide Football Club’s commitment to South Australia beyond the playing field, delivering an array of popular and successful programs to a wide cross-section of people.
These programs include the school-based Power Community Youth Program, the Aboriginal Power Cup, multicultural, new arrival and international student initiatives, Life Exercises for Older Adults and work with South Australia’s defence community, including past and present service personnel and their families along with the private defence sector.
Mr Forest said these activities - through the support of community partners - were impacting positively on the lives of thousands of people.
"Being a partner means more than providing financial support,” Mr Forrest said.
"My observation of many of the partners … is that there is a personal commitment, a belief that what you and your organisations are doing is worth doing … a belief that what you do improves the lives of every day South Australians and consequently the life of the South Australian community.”
The breakfast highlighted the work of four programs.
The POWER COMMUNITY YOUTH PROGRAM uses Port Adelaide’s AFL footballers and female athletes to take positive lifestyle messages to approximately 30,000 primary school-aged children in 100 schools annually.
In 2012, the program received an important boost with BHP Billiton committing to a further three-year partnership and Adelaide Airport Limited joining up as the regional partner.
The breakfast saw Power Community Youth Program manager Russell Ebert present an autographed Port Adelaide guernsey to retiring Department of Education and Child Development project officer Jan Burgess for her role in maintaining the program.
The ABORIGINAL POWER CUP celebrated its fifth anniversary in 2012 when it coincided with AFL Indigenous Round for the first time.
Power Community Ltd general manager Darren Adamson said the timing brought national attention to the program which involved more than 300 secondary students from 25 schools.
"That in itself was a significant motivation for the students so we were really pleased it worked out that way,” Mr Adamson said.
The Aboriginal Power Cup - which uses football as an incentive to remain in education - is incorporated in a South Australian Certificate of Education unit which was passed by approximately 90 per cent of participants. The educational outcomes are a key motivator for the partners in this program - Santos, the State Government, Transfield Services, Beach Energy and UniSA.
The 2013 Aboriginal Power Cup will again coincide with AFL Indigenous Round, running from Thursday 23 May to Saturday 25 May when the finals will be played before Port Adelaide’s clash with Geelong.
The breakfast acknowledged the support of the ACH Group in delivering the LIFE EXERCISE PROGRAM of physical activity aimed at older adults.
It has run for several years, with participants introduced to twice-weekly exercise routines at Alberton Oval.
"Because of the ACH Group partnership an exercise physiologist is engaged to manage these sessions,” Mr Forrest explained.
"That seems pretty simple, but the impact is very significant to the participants."
The final initiative profiled during the breakfast was the DEFENCE RECOGNITION PROGRAM which supports former and current service men and women, their families and defence sector industries.
It has a focus on supporting the families of soldiers from the Edinburgh-based 7th Battalion Royal Australian Regiment who are serving in Afghanistan.
Power Community Ltd continues to offer a range of activities to the families, including access to AFL games, tours of Alberton Oval and resilience training for children with Optimistic Kids.
Major Graeme Palmer, second in charge of the Battalion, said the support offered by Power Community Ltd and other organisations was very valuable when the soldiers are away from home.
"We take that very seriously and we’re looking at any meaningful activities that the families can enjoy,” Major Palmer said.
"We’re thankful for the support that’s offered and we are pleased to engage wherever we can to keep the families happy while the soldiers are overseas.”
Mr Forrest said all of the community partners and their employees were making a difference through their commitment.
"It’s not only the funding which is obviously important,” Mr Forrest said.
"It is also the personal commitment, the person-by-person commitment of the people … to a program that makes a difference. It really makes a difference."
Power Community Ltd thanks all of its community partners:
POWER COMMUNITY YOUTH PROGRAM: BHP Billiton, Adelaide Airport Ltd, Department of Education and Child Development and the Department of Premier and Cabinet
ABORIGINAL POWER CUP: Santos, the Government of South Australia, Transfield Service, Beach Energy, UniSA College and the South Australian Aboriginal Sports Training Academy
LIFE EXERCISES PROGRAM: ACH Group
DEFENCE RECOGNITION PROGRAM: Australian Defence Force, Defence Teaming Centre, RSL, Legacy, Veterans SA, Repat Foundation, Defence Community Organisation, Optimistic Kids
MULTICULTURAL: Multicultural SA, Education Adelaide and the Department for Immigration and Citizenship