BALRANALD Football Netball Club is holding its annual Can Assist Football Day this weekend to raise funds for those fighting cancer.
Can Assist Balranald is a not-for-profit group that raises funds for cancer patients who live in rural NSW.
Through a variety of fundraising and donations, Can Assist helps patients to pay for costs such as travel, accommodation and medication.
After the recent passing of Balranald legend Jeff Mannix, the football day will provide a sombre moment for the close Balranald community.
Can Assist Balranald treasurer Alison Linnett said that the impact of cancer had been at the front of the community’s minds.
“It’s going to be a very emotional weekend,” she said.
“We are dedicating this weekend to every person across the Balranald community that has been touched by cancer in any way.
“Sport is a huge way to get community involvement, especially in a tight-knit community like Balranald.
“It doesn’t even matter if you play sport or not, everyone just jumps in to help each other when the time is needed.”
Ms Linnett said Can Assist’s football days began as a football club initiative.
“Balranald Football Club initially did a pink football day many years ago to raise money for the Breast Cancer Foundation,” she said.
“Then Balranald Can Assist was set up and has been running for some time now, so now the footy club does the day with us.
“They get special shirts made up for the day, with the Can Assist logo on them.
“The footy club does a dinner every Thursday night, but the Thursday before the footy day Can Assist usually goes over and holds a raffle.
“A couple of years ago, one of the footy players got up and raised over $1000 to get his head shaved.
“That has kind of become a thing that happens each year, and I’ve been wanting to do it for a few years now.”
Ms Linnett said that this year she would finally take the plunge in honour of her late mother.
“My mum actually passed away in July of last year,” she said.
“I thought I wouldn’t get my hair cut for a while, in preparation for shaving my head this year.
“I’ve got two people who are going to plait my hair into tight little plaits, and we are doing a fifty-dollar 100 lucky-squares-draw happening that will be held on Thursday night.
“There will also be opportunities for people to pay $20 each to cut a plait off.
“I’ve been a teacher here for nearly 30 years, so I think there might be a few parents or kids out there that see this as an opportunity to get a bit of payback.”
Once Ms Linnett’s plaits are removed, her hair will be shaved down to a No.1 buzzcut. She says she’s hoping to raise more than $5000 from shaving her head.
Ms Linnett said she had two slogans for her work at Can Assist Balranald.
“We have two little slogans here,” she said. “Our first is that money that is raised local, stays local.”
“Any money that we raise here stays within our community, to the two towns we service, Balranald and Tooleybuc.
“The other is, ‘We don’t knock on your door, you have to knock on ours’.
“We can’t just go out and knock on the door of someone we hear might be ill, they just need to get in contact with us and we will take the process from there.”
Balranald football and netball players are providing an afternoon tea at a cost of $5 on Saturday, with all funds raised to be donated to Can Assist.
On Saturday night Balranald players will auction their football jumpers, with a portion going to Can Assist, and provide two signed jumpers to the organisation.
More information can be found on the Can Assist Balranald website.
