YOU often hear the phrase “you couldn’t pay me enough to…”.
And in the dead of winter, you’d be hard-pressed to find many willing to venture outdoors for a 24-hour “soccer-thon”.
But that’s exactly what Kerang Soccer Club members Daniel Michaels and Daniel Roberts will be doing to raise funds for the new club’s Kits for Kids campaign on July 10 and 11 at Atkinson Park.
Starting at 8am the Wednesday morning, the pair will be passing, dribbling and shooting with various soccer balls for a continuous 24-hour period.
“Come rain or shine, we are inviting the general public to come down and show their support and even join in for a kick,” Roberts said.
The club has set a provisional target of between $1500 and $2000 that will go towards purchasing shirts, shorts and socks in an array of junior sizes that will form part of a club kit bag used by its junior members for potential future games and tournaments.
Roberts, who is also the club treasurer, said they wanted to take the financial burden off families.
“Instead of the parents having to buy a replacement jersey every time there is a significant growth spurt, the child simply goes up a size in the shirt that they borrow from the club for games,” he told the Gannawarra Times.
“And because the club retains the kits, we eradicate the common occurrence of families having to buy replacement socks or shorts because they’ve been misplaced or accidently taken home by another player.”
Michaels, who founded the club, said the club couldn’t offer local businesses the same levels of exposure as other sports clubs in regard to sponsorship so had to turn to “inventive ways” for people to donate money.
“So naturally, we’ve landed on playing soccer through the dead of night, during winter,” Michaels said.
“Thanks to the generosity of Kerang SES, who are providing a generator and lighting trailer to illuminate the section of the park the club are using during the night, they can base the entire event in one location.
“Due to the onsite public toilets and barbecue, Atkinson Park was always our preferred spot, and because it is being done during the school holidays we are hopeful that local families will bring the kids down and perhaps have a kick with us.
“We have a fair bit of time to kill over the course of the event and we’ll be setting up a range of soccer equipment, so the more the merrier in regard to those who want to visit the park and get involved.
“Some of our junior members have already told us that they intend to be there, but this isn’t exclusive to people already associated with the club.
“Everyone is welcome, even if they just want a chat … you’ll just have to be mindful that a moving soccer ball will never be far from us.”
Roberts said the fundraising campaign had already begun, with a number of ways people could donate.
People can visit SportsPower Kerang and pledge or donate in person, or access a GoFundMe page under the club’s name for digital donations.
“For those who need to see it before they believe it, we will also have collection tins available at Atkinson Park throughout the day,” Roberts said.
“No donation is too small. Even if it’s just a gold coin, every dollar is incredibly valuable to a club such as ours.”
For those unable to make it to the event in person, the pair will live-stream sections of the day on the club’s Facebook page.
