A unique partnership between the West Coast Eagles, Town of Victoria Park, Wirrpanda Foundation and Perth Football Club recently claimed an award at the 2020 Parks and Leisure Regional Awards of Excellence for its jointly-developed Community Benefits Strategy.
The strategy won the Community Based Initiative of the Year award, beating out other strong projects from the City of Cockburn, City of Fremantle, City of Perth, FORM, City of Melville and City of Wanneroo.
Launched in December 2019, the strategy enables the project partners to use their strengths to deliver a wide range of programs focusing on outcomes in employment, health, education, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander wellbeing, youth engagement and social inclusion.
In developing the strategy the community were engaged at three stages, including the involvement of a deliberative panel of 30 residents who made recommendations to the project partners on what programs to deliver in the first five years of the strategy.
West Coast Eagles CEO Trevor Nisbett said it was exciting for the Community Benefits Strategy to be recognised so early into the partnership with the Town of Victoria Park, Wirrpanda Foundation and Perth Football Club.
“It demonstrates the impact we have already enjoyed in the 12 months or so that we have been located at Mineral Resources Park, but also at a time when it has been challenging to ensure we connect with the local community,” Nisbett said.
“We are delighted to have partnered with the Town of Victoria Park, the Wirrpanda Foundation and the Perth Football Club. We will continue to build on our community engagement programs.”
Our jointly developed Community Benefits Strategy won the Community Based Initiative of the Year award, 2020 Parks & Leisure Regional Awards of Excellence.
— Town of Victoria Park (@townofvicpark) August 28, 2020
The strategy was created in partnership with @WestCoastEagles, @WirraFoundation, @PerthFC & the Town https://t.co/oM4pxA3bzR
Town of Victoria Park Deputy Mayor Bronwyn Ife congratulated all involved in the award-winning strategy.
“This award is well-deserved and goes to show how special and unique the strategy is both within our Town and in the wider community,” Ife said.
“I would like to thank the staff who worked so hard on this project, our partners in the process the West Coast Eagles and Wirrpanda Foundation, Town Elected Members past and present, and most importantly our community. It’s through the contributions and passion of the community that we have meaningful programs being delivered today.”
Wirrpanda Foundation CEO Lisa Cunningham said the strategy was a truly collaborative effort.
“The Wirrpanda Foundation would like to recognise how collaborative the process has been with all partners and in particular acknowledge the Town of Victoria Park in designing and assisting us to implement the strategy,” Cunningham said.
"Our move to the Mineral Resources Park facility and gaining our first permanent home has been fantastic for the Foundation. Through the delivery of our programs we are enjoying being immersed in the community and we look forward to years ahead of working together to achieve great outcomes.”
The Community Benefits Strategy will now progress to the national awards, which will be announced in November.
