The Canberra Raiders and their Major Sponsor Huawei, handed over a cheque for $17,775 to the Ricky Stuart Foundation today, from the proceeds of a special jersey auction held earlier this season.
Major Sponsor Huawei and fellow club Sponsor McDonalds gave up their regular placements on the Raiders jersey in round 12 to help raise awareness for the Ricky Stuart Foundation and the #AutismWellbeing message.
The jerseys worn in the match were then auctioned off through www.allbids.com.au with the proceeds donated to the Ricky Stuart Foundation.
Raiders Coach and RSF Chairman, Ricky Stuart, joined Huawei Sponsorship Manager Lisa Connors and Raiders Stars Blake Austin and Jarrod Croker at Ricky Stuart House today to make the presentation.
Huawei Sponsorship and CSR Manager Lisa Connors said they were proud to be involved with the Ricky Stuart Foundation and the Raiders in helping to raise the money.
“We’ve been delighted to be able to give this opportunity to the Ricky Stuart Foundation,” Lisa Connors said. “We have always looked at our relationship with the Canberra Raiders as more than just a logo on a jersey. To be able to have the opportunity to give back is something we are very proud of.”
Raiders Coach Ricky Stuart said the donation would go towards the foundations plans of building a second respite centre, after the first house was opened this year in Chifley.
“We were fortunate to be able to open the first house this year for children aged 6-12 to give families with children with disabilities a respite centre they could take advantage of in Canberra and it’s been a huge success so far,” Stuart said. “Today’s donation will allow us to continue our mission to open a second house for teenage children in Canberra and further provide assistance to families.
“The generosity and support from organisations like Huawei and McDonalds who gave up their placements on our jersey for the match against the Bulldogs shows the wonderful community spirit we have in the Raiders family. We’ll be wearing the jersey again later this year against the Rabbitohs and I can’t thank them enough for their support.”
Raider’s stars Jarrod Croker and Blake Austin’s jerseys raised the most money through the online auction and they were on hand today at Ricky Stuart House to assist with the presentation.
Club Captain Jarrod Croker said he was proud to have contributed to the fundraising and thanked Huawei for their support.
“Huawei have been a long term sponsor of the Raiders and they are consistently helping us come up with ways to raise money for charities like this,” Croker said. “I’m happy people got on board and put some substantial bids in for the jerseys and we were able to help raise a lot of money.”
IMAGE: Raiders Players Jarrod Croker and Blake Austin with Lisa Connor (Huawei) and Raiders Coach Ricky Stuart
