Power Up Kids

Well done to the Ormeau Bulldogs Australian Football Club on launching the next stage of the Outside The Locker Room Mental Health Essential Item Program.

Yesterday, we officially launched the club’s mid-season charity campaign, with the Bulldogs proudly choosing Friends With Dignity as their supported charity for the next month — helping support individuals and families rebuilding their lives after domestic violence.

President Myles Garner and his family have created an incredible atmosphere within the club. You can genuinely feel the community spirit, care, and support the moment you walk through the gates. It was an absolute pleasure to launch the next stage of this program alongside a club that truly understands the importance of backing both mental health and community support.

What made the day even more special was seeing the inclusion teams from the Carrara Saints FC and the Labrador Football Club take the field as part of the club’s celebration round. Moments like these remind us that sport truly is for everyone and that community clubs can become places of belonging, support, and connection for so many people.

The day also carried a very emotional moment as we had the opportunity to meet Hudson Wicks’ beautiful mum Tracey and his sister. Last year, Hudson sadly lost his battle, and to be able to introduce them to the special bin created in honour of Hudson was something incredibly touching for everyone involved.

To make the tribute even more personal, we embedded Hudson’s initials “HW” into the frame of the bin — a small but powerful reminder that his story, his legacy, and the conversations this program creates will continue to live on through helping others.

Being able to show them the full process, the visibility the program is creating through the QR support systems, the mental health resources provided by Outside the Locker Room, and how successful the program has already become in honour of their beautiful young man was one of the most touching moments of the day.

What started as an idea has now become something that is genuinely helping less fortunate kids and families continue playing the sports they love, while also creating important conversations around mental health and community support.

Yesterday alone, the club collected an incredible 196 essential items, including 27 pairs of football boots. These boots, along with the essential items collected through the program, will now be donated to Boots for one & all community, helping Indigenous kids and communities throughout Australia continue playing the sports they love.

What this program is creating is so much bigger than a bin. It’s creating visibility around mental health, supporting charities, helping families doing it tough, reducing stigma, building stronger club cultures, and reminding people they are never alone.

To see all of these moments happen at one ground, on one day, was something truly special.

Thank you to everyone involved for continuing to help create real change throughout our communities. ❤️

❤️ DEFINITELY WORTH THE READ ❤️

Today we celebrate a huge milestone alongside Outside the Locker Room and the incredible partnership behind the Essential Item Mental Health Bin program.

Together, across charities and junior sporting clubs throughout the Gold Coast and Northern Rivers, we have now reached over 10,000 essential items collected and we know this number is far greater ❤️

The number itself is incredible… but the real success of this program goes far beyond statistics.

What makes this initiative so powerful is that these bins were never just designed to collect items. They were designed to help people.

Every club involved has access to mental health awareness and support through the QR codes placed on the side of the bins, helping families, players, volunteers, and community members connect with important mental health resources in their own time and in their own way.

But another part of this program that means so much to us is the quiet support happening behind the scenes.

Families doing it tough can access boots, sporting gear, uniforms, and essential items directly through their own clubs without judgement, without attention, and without feeling embarrassed.

One of the most heartfelt parts of this journey has been watching the clubs themselves adapt the program to make it even more accessible for their members.

Some clubs have created their own shoe racks, pigeonholes, and easy “grab-and-go” areas so families can simply take what they need without having to ask.

To us, that is one of the greatest acknowledgements of the success of this program.

Because when clubs start building systems around helping their own people with dignity, kindness, and understanding, you know real change is happening.

Bringing the element of the mid-season charity collection into this program for each club has also been a huge success.

What makes this initiative so powerful is that it creates a full-circle community impact.

Through this community-driven infrastructure, clubs are now able to:

❤️ Supporting mental health awareness through Outside The Locker Room resources and QR support.
❤️ Helping families within clubs doing it tough.
❤️ Bringing clubs and communities together through essential item collections.
❤️ And completing the full-circle impact when clubs choose a charity to support during their mid-season campaigns.

That full-circle model is what makes this program so special.

Sport helping community.
Community helping charities.
And people helping people.

And most importantly, it’s about helping people with their mental health through the power of sport and connection.

I’m incredibly proud of what this partnership with CEO Todd Morgan and the team at Outside The Locker Room has become.

Exciting news for the Logan community. ❤️

Starting next week, we are incredibly excited to help support our amazing charity partners by delivering two new permanent Woolworths locations through the Can We Change Essential Item Program.

🛒 Merciful Servants Au will now have a permanent Essential Item Bin located at Woolworths Underwood.

🛒 And the Logan branch of Rosies - Friends On The Street will receive their very first permanent Woolworths location at Daisy Hill Woolworths.

Both of these organisations have already been an important part of the Can We Change Essential Item Program, so to now help create permanent community locations like this is something we are extremely proud of.

These charities do incredible work throughout Logan, supporting people facing homelessness, hardship, hunger and isolation every single week. Many people throughout the community have often seen Rosies and Merciful Servants standing side-by-side helping those most in need with compassion, dignity and care.

After seeing the impact this program has already created across the Gold Coast, we knew it was important to continue growing alongside our partners into communities where support like this is needed more than ever — and Logan is one of those areas.

These bins are more than donation points.

They create awareness.
They create visibility for frontline services.
And they give everyday people a simple opportunity to help someone in need while doing their weekly shop.

To Woolworths Underwood and Daisy Hill Woolworths — thank you for believing in community and helping support two organisations doing incredible work throughout Logan.

We are so excited for this next step and what it will mean for the Logan community moving forward. ❤️

❤️Rosies - Friends On The Street❤️

On the weekend, we had the honour of attending the annual Gold Coast North & South Branch Volunteer Reward and Recognition Program for Rosies Friends on the Street.

Every year this event reminds us why community matters so much.

The volunteers behind Rosies are some of the most caring and selfless people you could ever meet. Night after night, they show up for people doing it tough throughout our community — offering not just food or support, but conversation, dignity, kindness and human connection.

Listening to Jayne Shallcross, CEO of Rosies, speak about the current statistics and growing need across our communities was incredibly powerful… and honestly, heartbreaking.

As we head into the colder months, it is more important than ever that we all come together and support organisations like Rosies Friends on the Street.

Right now, Rosies are urgently needing:
🧥 Blankets
🛏 Sleeping bags
🍜 Cups & noodles
☕ Warm comfort items

Something as simple as a warm meal, a hot cup of noodles or a blanket can mean so much to someone sleeping rough or struggling through difficult times. Sometimes it’s not just about keeping warm… it’s about helping someone feel seen, cared for and supported during their time of need.

We are incredibly proud that Can We Change and Power Up Kids continue to stand beside Rosies Friends on the Street and the amazing volunteers who make such a real difference every single day.

Please, if you can help — even in a small way — now is the time.

🟥🟨 COMMUNITY REWARD & RECOGNITION 🟨🟥

The next clubs selected in the Can We Change Volunteer Reward & Recognition Program with the Gold Coast Suns were the Coomera Magpies Australian Football Club - Juniors Club and Labrador Juniors AFL Club , who enjoyed watching a great win by the boys against GWS👏

This program is about recognising the incredible volunteers and community people throughout our junior AFL clubs who give their time week in and week out to support young people and grassroots sport.

One of the most touching moments from the game was seeing Summer, founder of Power Up Kids , have the opportunity to catch up with Wendy Marshall , manager of the Gold Coast Suns community team.

Many years ago, Summer and her brother Fletcher were honoured by the Gold Coast Suns for the incredible work they were already doing throughout the community as young people. To see that moment come full circle years later was something truly special. ❤️

A huge thank you to the Gold Coast SUNS for continuing to support community volunteers and grassroots football across the Gold Coast and Northern Rivers.

Two more important locations have just been established for two incredible frontline services.

Walk With Us now has a new essential item bin at Woolworths Supermarkets Stockland Burleigh Heads, adding to their current location at Coles Treetops Burleigh Waters.

And Nerang Neighbourhood Centre now has a permanent location at Coles Group Nerang Fair.

These locations are huge.

Because when frontline services have permanent places in the community where people can give, it means they can worry a little less about essential items — and focus more of their time on the incredible work they do every day for people who need support.

Our goal has always been simple:

To help each main frontline service on the Gold Coast, first to have two permanent community collection locations, whether that is through Coles, Woolworths, or other high-traffic community spaces.

We have a long way to go , but we are getting there.

Rosies - Friends On The Street North Branch — achieved.
Set Free Care— achieved.
Walk With Us — achieved.

Now Havafeed Relief and Nerang Neighbourhood Centre are one location away from reaching that same goal.

But what makes this even more powerful is that these locations are in their own communities.
In their own suburbs.

Which means the people donating are often helping the person right next door to them.

And that is what makes this so meaningful and Powerful.

It connects communities directly back to the frontline services helping their own people every single day.

This is what awareness, visibility, and community looks like.

It is not just a bin.

It is a permanent place for people to give.
A permanent place for people to learn.
A permanent place for frontline services to be seen.

And most importantly, it is another way the Gold Coast community can stand beside the people doing the work every single day.

It’s our absolute pleasure

Today another incredible club joined the Outside the Locker Room Essential Items Mental Health Program.

The Robina Mudgeeraba Roos Junior AFL have chosen to support Boots For One & All Community — a charity doing life-changing work for Indigenous communities across Australia.

What makes this even more powerful is the club has already committed six full sets of football uniforms to help kids who otherwise may go without.

This is what community sport is truly about.
Not just what happens on the field… but what happens because of it.

A huge thank you to Nat and the team behind Boots for one & all community for the incredible work you do every single day. The impact you’re making reaches far beyond football boots. You’re creating dignity, opportunity, inclusion and hope for young people across Australia.

And to the Robina Mudgeeraba Roos — thank you for stepping up and showing how local clubs can create real change.

Mental health, community, belonging and support all start with connection… and today that connection will help so many young Indigenous kids feel seen, valued and supported.

This is why the program matters.
One club. One bin. One community at a time. ❤️

BARRY HAS BEEN FOUND!!! 💙💙💙

Some families don’t just lose a pet… they lose a piece of their heart.

Right now on the Gold Coast, a family is desperately searching for Barry, their beautiful 6-month-old British Bulldog who is still missing from Elanora. And as parents, kids, animal lovers, and a community — we understand why this hurts so deeply.

Animals are never “just pets.”
They sit beside us in our hardest moments.
They comfort our children.
They become part of our routines, our homes, our memories… our family.

That’s why this next month means so much to us.

Power Up Kids and Can We Change are proud to launch the next Essential Item Collection for Animal Welfare Queensland at both the The Helensvale Farmers Market and The Robina Farmers Market.

This collection is about more than food, collars, leads, and supplies.
It’s about standing behind the people and organisations who protect animals when they need us most.
It’s about helping families keep their animals safe, cared for, and loved.
And it’s about reminding our community that kindness matters — to people and animals alike.

If you’re coming to the markets over the next month, please consider placing an essential item into the Animal Welfare Queensland collection bins. Every single item helps animals that are vulnerable, abandoned, recovering, rescued, or waiting for a second chance.

And right now, we also ask our community to keep an eye out for Barry and help share his story. Because somewhere tonight, a family is hoping their little mate makes it home. ❤️🐾

Huge thank you to everyone who continues to support this movement and to Animal Welfare League Queensland for the incredible work they do every single day for animals across our community.

💙 Mental Health Awareness Month starts next month —
and today was a powerful reminder of why this program matters.

We dropped into Broadbeach Cats Juniors AFC today as part of our Outside the Locker Room essential item Mental Health Program… and what we saw was incredible.

The Cats blue mental health bin was completely full of Unwanted boots, shorts, singlets and jerseys that were once sitting unused have now become support for others.
454 items were collected and donated.

👟 15 pairs of football boots donated straight back into the club for players and families to help themselves.
🩳 Brand-new shorts outgrown by players now back in circulation.

👕 Additional gear will now be donated to Boots for one & all community — an incredible Gold Coast charity sending pre-loved football boots, toiletries, sanitary products and essential items to remote Indigenous communities across Australia, living by the motto “No Mob Left Behind.”

But it got even better.

Broadbeach Cats Australian Football Club also donated five full sets of old team uniforms they no longer needed — an incredible gesture .

And while we were there, the program rolled into its next stage.

Supported by Broadbeach Sports Club,the club is now hosting Outside The Locker Room’s monthly charity collection for Havafeed Relief

This means AFL families, members and the wider community can now donate essential items directly through the club. To Help Havafeed Community Relief doing amazing work helping people doing it tough on the Gold Coast

This is exactly why this program was created.

A simple bin becomes:

💙 454 items of support
💙 Help for families
💙 Help for charities
💙 Recycled sporting gear back into clubs
💙 Awareness for mental health
💙 A stronger community

Mental health is not just an individual issue. It belongs to clubs, families, workplaces and communities.

And when communities come together like this… lives change.