Cranbourne Little Athletics Centre has received a $4,200 grant to buy brand new sports gear thanks to funds raised through the sale of Coles’ Community Chiller Bags.
The Little Athletics centre in Cranbourne is one of over 160 centres across Australia to receive funding from Coles to replace or expand its sports equipment.
Funds for the grants are raised through the sale of specially-marked chiller bags designed by eight-year-old Lachie Macdonald from Victoria and 11 year-old Charlie De Bruyn from Western Australia. For every bag sold, 25 cents is directed to the Coles Little Athletics Community Fund to provide sport equipment grants.
Coles State General Manager Mark O’Connor said Coles was delighted to provide grants to help the Little Athletics centres in locations such as Cranbourne.
“Thanks to our customers who have bought our range of chiller bags at Coles stores, we are able to provide around $565,000 in grants for Little Athletics centres around Australia to help them purchase equipment to support activities such as High Jump, Discus, Hurdles and the various running events.
“The Cranbourne Little Athletics Centre told us they would like to receive a grant to buy a double sided digital timing clock and we were delighted to help because we know this is an essential part of Little Athletics to support young budding athletes and volunteers,” he said.
Cranbourne Little Athletics’ Treasurer Dean McCaughan said the grant was important to their centre which needed new equipment to continually provide a high quality and safe weekly experience.
“The Coles grant will have a huge impact on our centre. Some of our current equipment is outdated and we have been looking to replace it in stages due to the expense of it,” he said.
“Having the score clock will greatly aid those in our community, particularly those with hearing issues as most updates delivered on event day are via microphone. The score clock will enable the athletes, officials and families to be given real time results which will improve the experience of our athletics community.”
In addition to the chiller bags, Coles sells Community Bags which help to raise funds for SecondBite, Guide Dogs Australia and Clean Up Australia. All Community Bags were designed by school children as part of a bag design competition.
