Sport Thought with Brent Eastwood: Contributing to the Northland Sports Fund

Charlotte van der Zwan received funding to help excel her already successful equestrian endeavours.

Opinion

Sport Northland recently announced the granting of funding to talented young Northland sportspeople through the Kauri Club, a fund that has supported up-and-coming athletes since the early 2000s.

Around $8000 was given away in scholarships and grants to seven athletes from six different sports codes to assist them to reach their sporting goals.

Charlotte Thorpe (dressage), Bailey Edwards and Wikitoria Rogers (both rugby), Jacqui Cameron (hockey) and Charlotte van der Zwan (equestrian) were each awarded a scholarship, which is expected to be used to support them over the next 12 months to further their own development as athletes in their given sport.

Canon Puriri (athletics) and Flynn Venmore (squash) were each granted funding to support them with competition costs, particularly around travel.

Sport Northland is only able to achieve this level of funding through donations - mainly from local business owners Jackie and Alan Lints - as well as through the annual income/yield from the $250,000 of Sport Northland capital that is invested through the Northland Community Foundation for this purpose.

A number of years ago Sport Northland partnered up with the Northland Community Foundation to establish the Northland Sports Fund (and under the umbrella of this fund the Kauri Club Fund), with the aim of creating a lasting legacy for youth sport across the region.

The more we can grow the $250,000 that already exists in the Kauri Club Fund, the more funding will be available to grant to our promising Northland athletes. Northland Community Foundation already has a significant bequest promised to help support young athletes from swimming, equestrian and athletics, one the bequest is realised.

Maybe your own children or grandchildren have achieved in sport – or maybe they are aspiring to in the future. Either way you have a unique opportunity to support them and other young Northland athletes now and in the future.

This can be in the form of a bequest (a promise of future money) or alternatively through “living giving”(one-off lump sum gifts or through pay-roll giving, like for example many Sport Northland employees are now doing).

To find out more about contributing to the Northland Sports Fund, you can contact Jane Scripps, community engagement and fundraising manager at the Northland Community Foundation on 021 558224 or at jane@northlandcommunityfoundation.org.nz

After all, these young athletes are the future of Northland sport, and they deserve all the support they can get.