The Western Sydney Wanderers and Melbourne Victory shared the Community Champion Award at Monday night’s Dolan Warren Awards.
The Award recognises both clubs for their community and corporate social responsibility programs and partnerships throughout the season.
It has been another massive year in the community for the Western Sydney Wanderers with it all kicking off before the season even started with the help of their community partner McDonald’s.
The Wanderers hosted their fifth Miniroos Gala Day with over 4,500 participants and their families having the opportunity to have the Wanderers at their home ground.
This then followed with the club’s annual Ronald McDonald House match, which hopes to raise awareness and support the incredible work Ronald McDonald House in Westmead do in supporting families with sick kids.
Wanderers partner Mitsubishi Electric joined in with the support, donating $10,000 as part of their half-time penalty shoot-out to Ronald McDonald House in Westmead.
Players and staff also headed to the house for the third year in-a-row to cook meals for the families as part of the house’s Meals from the Heart program.
The Red & Black’s community traditions continued hosting both a White Ribbon and a Harmony Day match at two of their home games this season.
The Wanderers also launched a pilot program in line with their Harmony Day celebrations, targeting New Migrants in Western Sydney in an effort to promote inclusivity and united.
The initiative has seen the club work with a number of Western Sydney resettlement and migrant advocacy groups to distribute 1,000 memberships to the community.
Christmas saw the Wanderers take the full team to visit The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, delivering gifts to seriously ill children.
This was in line with the club’s Christmas campaign with The Smith Family at the Sydney Derby, where members and fans were encouraged to bring gifts to the match to be donated.
The Western Sydney Wanderers also celebrated a massive Female Football Week across two home games, celebrating the contribution women make in football both on and off the field.
Over 400 female footballers in Western Sydney were given the opportunity to participate in a free football clinic that also gave them free access to attend a Wanderers Hyundai A-League match.
There was also continued support for the Indigenous community, both in Western Sydney and wider regions, with the Wanderers awarding the very first recipient of their Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander scholarship along with hosting a giant football clinic and tournament at the 2017 Indigenous Football Championships.
In total, the Wanderers Hyundai A-League, Westfield W-League, and Foxtel Y-League teams appeared in 844 appearances across the Western Sydney region, connecting with people from different communities and backgrounds.
Meanwhile, at a school level, the Wanderers engaged with over 6,000 school children in Western Sydney through the football in schools initiative and program and hosted over 500 young footballers in weekly and holiday clinics.
