It’s a startling statistic – three million Australians are living with anxiety or depression, beyondblue reports.
Altona City Soccer Club will take up the cause for mental health when it battles Fitzroy City in the inaugural beyondblue Cup game at Kim Reserve on September 10.
“We all sort of go through those times, where we struggle here and there, so it’s a good cause for our club to get behind,” City president Joe Tanti told Star Weekly.
Altona City will make this cause its annual fundraiser, and will use its last game of the season every year to raise funds for the mental health and support agency.
And it will not be just the action on the pitch that will draw fans to the cause, but also the festivities in the lead-up to the game at nearby Logan Reserve.
The club will put on a band, there will be a jumping castle, and the Arsenal School of Soccer will be running soccer clinics.
This event is open to the public and everyone who attends will be asked to donate to the cause.
From next year, City also hopes to hold a march en route from Logan Reserve to Kim Reserve, starting at Pier Street and then moving down Millers Road.
“We’ve decided it will be an annual thing; it will be the last home game of every season, and it doesn’t matter who we’re playing,” Tanti said.
“It’s for everyone; it’s not just for our club, it’s for the whole community.
“After the fundraiser at Logan Reserve, we’ll all be heading back to the club to hopefully watch the senior boys bring home the beyondblue Cup.”
