WHITTLESEA Junior Football Club participated in a walkathon held at the Whittlesea Showgrounds on March 30, to raise funds for local disabled boy Joel.
Whittlesea under-10 coach Adam Robbins had earlier met with Joel and his family and was particularly taken with the plight young Joel has to confront. He urged his team to get behind this very worthy cause.
The boys and their parents all contributed to a fundraiser and also participated in the walkathon. They managed to raise $500 which was an outstanding effort.
Joel and his family came down to a training night to personally thank the team for their efforts. The boys presented Joel with a signed training shirt, which he now greatly treasures.
He was also invited to come along to the opening game of the season to lead the boys out onto the ground and to toss the coin.
Some solid coin tossing practice was put in by Joel and, kitted out in his Eagles practice shirt, he carried out his tasks on match day.
Whittlesea’s opponent on the day, the Northcote Junior Football Club, and the umpire were outstanding with their co-operation in enabling Joel to participate in the pre-match activity.
Everyone then lined up for a group photo prior to kick off (above).
Joel enjoyed himself and has been officially anointed as the Eagles under-10 mascot. Whenever possible, he will be attending Whittlesea’s under-10 home games.
