Nine Clubs. Thousands of Staff. Millions of Fans. For Recovery.
Melbourne City FC has partnered with leading food rescue charity, SecondBite, to deliver Cityzens Giving for Recovery – a Global City Football Group charitable campaign that brings together its nine clubs, thousands of staff, players and coaches, and millions of fans, to help communities get back on their feet.
In Victoria, COVID-19 has had a significant impact on the most vulnerable communities, including many children and their families. As part of Cityzens Giving for Recovery, Melbourne City FC will assist children returning to education by delivering free football and physical activity classes, along with education on health and nutrition at Breakfast and Homework Clubs, with food provided by SecondBite.
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SecondBite is a local leading national food rescue organisation who work with a range of food suppliers to rescue surplus fresh food and redistribute it to local charities and non-profits around Australia. With the common goal of supporting people in need in our local communities, City in the Community and SecondBite have come together to play their part in the COVID-19 recovery process.
As an extension of the traditional annual Cityzens Giving campaign, City Football Group will be matching dollar for dollar donations towards our Melbourne recovery project. The project also has the support of our principal partner, Etihad Airways, which is helping to kick off our campaign by dedicating the front of Melbourne City’s shirt, ordinarily bearing its company branding, to “Cityzens Giving for Recovery” for the Club’s match against Sydney FC on Saturday 1 August, 2020.
City fans will have the opportunity to bid to win their name on the back of their favourite City star’s warm-up top, alongside their signed match worn “Cityzens Giving for Recovery” jersey, with all proceeds donated to our recovery campaign.
The Club is also enabling every member of staff across its network to spend a day volunteering, amounting to thousands of hours of giving. Fans can get involved too, by donating to the projects, fundraising and submitting ideas to help their communities which we may be able to support.
For more information about the Cityzens Giving for Recovery projects click here.
Brad Rowse, Chief Executive Officer of Melbourne City FC, said: “COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on our local communities and across the world. We want to play our own part in the recovery process and support our local communities in their recovery.
“We have partnered with SecondBite to assist children returning to education from home schooling with a combination of free football, free food and health and nutrition education.
“It’s time for our staff, our players, our coaches and our fans to come together and play our part. We will be holding a number of initiatives to help raise vital funds for the recovery process. Our fans will have the opportunity to bid for match worn jerseys and join us in a virtual event for our end of season presentation with all proceeds assisting children returning to education following the pandemic.”
Jim Mullan, Chief Execute Officer of SecondBite, said: “We are delighted to join Melbourne City FC’s Cityzens Giving for Recovery project to assist communities who have been heavily impacted by the current COVID-19 pandemic.
“Through our food rescue service, we will support children who are returning to school following an extended period of home schooling. We know it’s a difficult time for many families in our community and many children have struggled during this period, which is why we want to play our part and help people get back on their feet through the combination of free food and football.”
Scott Jamieson, Melbourne City FC captain, said: “The impact of COVID-19 has been huge across our local communities and we’re determined to raise money to help those who have been hit hard by the pandemic. Home schooling has been tough for many children and it’s our time to give back and help those affected in their recovery process and their return to education.”
Melbourne City FC’s City in the Community team will run a number of initiatives and fundraisers to help support our local community. You can keep up to date with these through Melbourne City FC’s Official Club Website and social media channels.
