Toowoomba Bears Darling Downs Rugby Union Club partner with Protea Place and Small Steps for Hannah to stop domestic violence
One of the Darling Downs’ largest sport clubs is partnering with a key Toowoomba organisation to stop domestic violence. Find out how you can join and support the cause here.
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Toowoomba Bears want to be more than a sports team.
As the Darling Downs’ largest rugby union club they believe they can be a great vehicle for change and are willing to do the work.
This year the club has partnered with Protea Place in a bid to stamp out domestic violence.
“As the largest Darling Downs rugby club, we are passionate about not just giving young men, women, disabled players and children an avenue to play rugby,” Bears club president Bruce McConnnel said.
“We want to ensure they develop into their best self with us.
“Every year we have a club initiative – this year we decided to work with Protea Place as a charity partner, and Small Steps for Hannah as our education partners.
“It started with a question ‘what does supporting the women in our community look like?’
“We knew we wanted to do something tangible and funds from our annual ladies day will be donated directly to Protea Place.”
The club’s commitment however does not stop at fundraising.
As part of their partnership with the two organisations, the Bears are working to educate and inform their male players.
“Every woman deserves to be treated with respect and dignity,” Mr McConnnel said.
“In partnering with these two organisations we want to educate our young men so they can be part of the solution in our communities.
“We want to give them the tools and the knowledge to identify problems and where possible either stop or prevent those problems.
“For us as a club it is about more than helping them be good rugby players. We want to help them be good citizens, people that make positive change for themselves and others.”
Junior, B-Grade and Modified Rugby Program players will line-up in matches from 12.30pm at Southern Cross Oval, Toowoomba before the A-grade side kicks off at 3.40pm.
The Bears A-grade will wear special pink jerseys with proceeds from the auction of the jerseys donated to Protea Place.
Entry to the match and Ladies Day on Saturday, July 15 is free.
The club hosted a special domestic violence education session on Thursday night for its players and club members.
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