The West Coast Eagles fans may have been hit with wild weather when their team took on the Gold Coast Suns at Domain Stadium in round seven, but it didn’t stop them filling their pockets with cans of food for the annual ‘Cans for a Cause’ initiative.
The charity initiative was founded by Don Pyke and encourages West Coast fans to bring a can of food to the game to be donated to Foodbank WA, the state’s largest hunger relief organisation.
As the Eagles soared to a 87-point win, West Coast Eagles staff were feverishly stacking over five tonnes of tinned food, preparing it to be transported to Foodbank WA which in turn passes it on to the states needy.
The total equates to over 7,200 meals for the homeless across WA, a truly astonishing achievement considering the terrible weather conditions which affected the crowd numbers considerably.
In return for the generosity, Eagles supporters were good hard dose of nostalgia with Eagles greats including Dwayne Lamb, Michael Brennan, John Worsfold, David Hart, and Ashley McIntosh at the ground on match day accepting donations.
Don Pyke, who couldn’t take part in the match-day drive due to his position as an assistant to Adam Simpson, says the result if reflective of the tremendous community spirit at the West Coast Eagles Football Club.
“We collected over five tonnes of canned food on Saturday, that is equivalent of over 7,200 meals,” Pyke said.
“We still have collections from Woolworths Subiaco to be added to this total, so considering the weather, it is a fantastic result.
“They’ll now donate it to adults and children in need, we are just so fortunate as a club to have such generous and supportive members.”
The West Coast Eagles would like to thank all members and fans who donated canned goods on Saturday and helped make Cans For A Cause a huge success.