Last Saturday saw the Yass Magpies’ junior ranks take to Walker Park dressed strikingly in pink.
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No, this wasn’t a fashion statement from rugby league’s junior ranks. Instead, it was a show of support for the club’s annual Pink Sock day, the aim of which was to raise funds for Yass Valley CanAssist.
And, despite inclement weather and some poorly-timed byes, the club managed to bring together $735, all of which will be donated to CanAssist.
Yass Minor League secretary, Haylee Blyss-Hewett, was pleased with the outcome of the fundraiser.
“We’re happy that it went as well as it did,” Blyss-Hewett said.
“Unfortunately it fell on a weekend where we had a couple of teams not playing … [but] I thought the 735 was a nice amount, and the cake stall was fantastic. It was a big hit, I think that’s where most of the money came in from.”
Some of the players took it upon themselves to help out with the fundraising efforts, and there were some additional incentives to get them involved.
“There were a couple of kids that walked around with the tins and collected the donations,” Blyss-Hewett said.
“The kids love the pink socks every year, and the referee chooses a player from each game to keep the pink ball.”
The event went about as smoothly as it could have on a miserable Saturday, and Blyss-Hewett said that the club was considering holding the fundraiser earlier next year in order to avoid similar difficulties.
However, the weather did nothing to dampen the Magpies’ commitment to fundraising for an important local cause.
“It’s absolutely incredibly important to the Magpies,” Blyss-Hewett said.
“We love supporting local charities, especially charities like CanAssist, because cancer affects everyone.
“To even be able to give a little bit to help someone that’s suffering is something that the Magpies really enjoy doing.”
And, of course, the day appealed to some of the little Magpies with big personalities.
“We do have a lot of ratbags in our teams, and they love any chance to stand out,” Blyss-Hewett said.
“We love our little ratbags, that’s why we do it every week.”
Overall, the club was pleased with the day and will certainly continue its commitment to fundraising for local charities in the future.
“We just look for something local, I think it’s been CanAssist for a couple of years,” Blyss-Hewett said.
“All I’ve heard is that on the Magpies side of it that we were very happy with the efforts that CanAssist put in on the cake stall.
“Everyone was really happy with the cakes that they bought.”