Wellington Phoenix spent a combined total of 943 hours engaging with the Wellington Community throughout the 2017/18 Hyundai A-League Season.
This surpasses their target of 800 hours per season and highlights the significance that the Club places on giving back to the community, especially the Wellington region.
The Wellington Phoenix Community Programme includes engagement with local football clubs, school visits, activity with charitable organisations and involvement in major community events. Wellington Phoenix also run football programmes during each school holidays which are open to all kids in the Wellington region aged 8-12.
The players loved getting out in the community and meeting fans of all ages and backgrounds last season. Some of the highlights included visiting the Special Olympics National Football Tournament, participating in Capital Football’s After School Football in Porirua, attending Kelly Sports Summer Football Series and joining in with club training sessions.
Phoenix players were involved with local charities; Wellington Children’s Hospital and Wellington City Mission were two initiatives that were incredibly opening and a special opportunity to make a difference in the lives of those in our community. While in Auckland, the team were also fortunate to spend some time with the brave children at Starship Hospital and learn more about Ronald McDonald House.
The 2017/18 season, saw the Club introduce the FootbALL initiative, a programme which provided Season Ticket Memberships to recently settled refugees in the Wellington Region. This programme aims to help integrate refugees into our community through sport, by introducing them to their new city’s professional football club and providing them with an opportunity to experience live football at Westpac Stadium.
Last season also saw the introduction of the Wellington Phoenix Community Bus Programme. We provided 36 buses throughout the season, an average of four per game, for low decile schools and community groups as a means of transport to attend a Phoenix match at Westpac Stadium. This programme has had hugely positive outcomes, and Wellington Phoenix are set to continue with buses to games in the 2018/19 season.
Wellington Phoenix will aim to continue its positive engagement in the community in 2018/19, with an objective to complete over 1000 combined community hours.
If you are interested in having Wellington Phoenix players at your club or community event, contact our Community Officer, Becky Cooke.
Visit our website for more information on our Community Programme
