Welcome and thank you for taking the time to read about the Players’ Fund. May we wish you all a wonderful 2022 and we look forward to interacting with you in this interesting year ahead.
Instead of reviewing the past year in this report, I have decided to look at our key role in rugby, who we help, how we do the helping and what this help ultimately achieves….in other words, what is our IMPACT and how does this bring HOPE to these brave young men and women.
When life changing rugby injuries happen, they are devastating and often irreversible, leading to varied loss of mobility, and dependence on others for good health & wellbeing for the rest of time. Adjusting to a “new normal” following a disabling injury, takes time and patience. Our IMPACT as an organisation is to partner our brave former rugby players on this journey so that together we can tackle the many obstacles they will be faced with.
By regularly visiting the diverse homes of our 101 recipients throughout South Africa, we can better understand the environment they live in, their family circumstances, and their equipment and accessibility needs. This provides the opportunity to discuss and plan their hopes, dreams and direction for the future. By being at the coalface of their lives, our IMPACT is finding personalised solutions for each individual as they journey ahead as a person living with a disability. Their futures are as important as all of ours.
Soon after their life changing injury, we strive to create a bond with our recipients. They become life members of the Players’ Fund family as well as the extended rugby community in South Africa. We have found that this creates a strong sense of belonging and helps them to plan for the next 5, 10 or 15+ years through new eyes and with a sense of hope. Our IMPACT is by tapping into our extensive rugby and business networks for the direct benefit of our recipients.
We have learnt from our recipients that they are as much partners of our lives(?) as we are of theirs. Their strength of character and resilience has time and time again shone through especially in the past two years. This has made us realize that these brave young men & women whose lives have been compromised are heavily invested in our team. Our IMPACT on their lives has in return IMPACTED and reaffirmed our commitment to being in business for another 40 years.
We join so many of the nation’s non-profits on shaky financial footing, due to dwindling income as a result of the pandemic, with a collective effort we have strived to build a stronger, more durable and effective organization. We have reviewed what we do and how we do it. We have changed methods of fundraising and feel in time that these will show positive results. Diversifying our funding income from a number of different sources and sponsors has also become key to sustainability.
We are listening and learning from our donors by finding out what they need from us. Working on maintaining good relationships and creating new ones has become a daily part of our work. Regular interesting communication via newsletters, active social media platforms, and various publication has included the many wonderful stories of the lives of our recipients. The IMPACT of the pandemic has resulted in worthwhile refection, reimagining, and regrouping for Rugby’s Caring Hands.
My final thought with all the above in mind, is to appeal to you the reader to take action and help us to build a stronger, more durable, sustainable and more effective organization. Please help us steer this ship through the storm. Maybe take some time to ask yourself, what you as a rugby enthusiast, small business owner, CSI manager, large corporate, foundation, high net worth individual or investor can do by becoming part of our #supportsquad. GIVE SMART so that we can continue to deliver by making a difference to the difficult lives of our fallen heroes by committing to being part of a dynamic team that operates by a clear set of values:
- Caring
- Stable
- Approachable
- Dependable
- Transparent
- Accountable
“You cannot get through a single day without having an IMPACT on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make” Jane Goodall
Please go to our DONATE page should you wish to view the donation options and methods available, or make contact with myself to discuss support ideas that would be a brand fit for your company or foundation.
