Perth-based Community and Game Development staff Bradd Dalziell, Janelle Marangon and Dylan Maynard joined Goldfields Community Coordinator Gabby Moran to conduct programs in schools, sporting clubs and community groups across Kalgoorlie and Kambalda.
The role model visits are a key component of the continuing partnership between the West Coast Eagles and BHP to engage with youth in regional communities across Western Australia.
The school days enabled a focus on the delivery of education programs, with staff visiting seven schools around Kalgoorlie over two days.
The SOAR and Junior SOAR programs offers female students in local high schools and upper primary schools with opportunities to develop their skills and knowledge related to healthy attitudes and behaviours, whilst encouraging strategic thinking on how they can take responsibility for their own wellbeing.
The SOAR workshops were complemented by delivery of Eagle Insight and Eagles Rock my School program workshops, ensuring that all students had access to the visiting West Coast Eagles role models.
In an after-school setting, staff coordinated a football clinic through the Eagles Freestyle Footy program, working alongside coaches and volunteers at the Kambalda Football Club.
An All-Abilities football session was delivered in partnership with Goldfields Individual and Family Support Association (GIFSA), providing an inclusive environment for players with disabilities to be supported in honing their skills and connecting with the Club.
Moran was thrilled to have the support of metro staff, praising the success of the trip overall and the diverse range of programs delivered in the community.
“To have the metro team come out and experience the region with me is super beneficial to running the programs and having the extra hands at the events was a massive support,” she said.
“For them to bring their different areas of experience and expertise helps with running each of our collective programs more effectively.
“It’s important for us to provide football opportunities to people of all ages and abilities, so to run our freestyle footy and all-abilities sessions alongside our education programs over the course of the trip made the whole visit a valuable one.”
One of the main objectives of this role model visit in particular was youth engagement across our BHP communities in Kalgoorlie and Kambalda.
“Obviously BHP have a large presence in Kalgoorlie and Kambalda, so we aimed to focus on that after-school youth engagement which was a big hit with 25 coming out to our footy session.
“We wanted to target those communities where community sport isn’t as large as the metro areas and provide some opportunities for youth to engage with football clinics directly from Eagles’ staff.”
BHP Principal Community NiWest Chelsea Hunter highlighted how impactful their continuing partnership with the West Coast Eagles has been in achieving a variety of outcomes across regional WA.
“For nearly two decades, BHP has been proud to partner with the Eagles, working together to improve female and Indigenous participation, youth engagement, and mental health outcomes in regional and remote communities,” Hunter said.
“It has been fantastic to see the programs we support inspire and empower so many young West Australians, and we look forward to seeing more great players of the future coming from the Goldfields regions.”
Moran further reinforced how vital the partnership is and will continue to be in strengthening regional communities across the state.
“BHP play a massive part in being able to provide our services across the region and without them we wouldn’t be able to head out to the community the way we do across regional WA. Our partnership is vitally important to engage with young people from all backgrounds and ability levels in a safe and fun environment,” she said.
