Purple Hands brought in footy stars Gabby Biedenweg-Webster, Orlagh Lally, Joshua Draper, Isaiah Dudley, Quinton Narkle, and Gabby Newton to help run sports drills and share stories to positively influence the young people in the care of the Department.
Forward Isiah Dudley found connection with the young people taking part in the program through sharing their experiences of community.
“We’re all from good communities and similar communities and they talked about what they like to do when they go home and I also talked about what I do,” he said. “To give back to them is pretty special.”
Midfielder Orlagh Lally also drew on her own experience of moving from her home of Ireland to play with Fremantle – and the support she received from the club and her teammates – to provide the young people with some positive insights.
“Moving away from family can be really difficult,” she said. “I thought if I share some of my story, it might help them realise you can make a support network that you can go to for help should you need it.”
The program seeks to use sport as a vehicle to build life skills and promote wellbeing,
“Sport is the connector, so many things come out when you’re teaching sporting skills, and you can weave through those powerful messages of teamwork, belonging, connection, resilience and leadership,” Purple Hands Foundation Program Manager Cherise Ricciardo said.
The young people in the care of the Department said the visits created some powerful moments.
“I didn’t think I’d have this moment with them,” one said. “I even asked some of the players how do you bring yourself up when you feel low, and they gave me some pretty good tips.
“We really look up to them and you think if they can take out of their time and come see us then maybe we can do something for them – keep proud, keep your head up and just do the right things.”
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