Western United announced Lifeline Western Melbourne as the Club’s Charity Partner for the 2023/24 season in a bid to tackle mental health in the local community.
Western United, with the help from current Premier Partner Victoria University, will connect with Lifeline Western Melbourne with the goal to reinforce their core club value of helping the community battle any mental health problems.
The partnership will include mental health training and specific classes throughout the season to assist club staff and players.
Recently at the Liberty A-League Women’s, the club put together a sausage sizzle at City Vista where all proceeds would go directly to Lifeline Western Melbourne.
Lifeline is a network with 41 centres, 10,000 volunteers and 1,000 employees who provide mental health support and build new infrastructure for those in need in the community.
Each year, over one million Australians reach out to Lifeline for support, with mental health illness recognised as the second highest stipulated disease affecting people in Tarneit, making this an important issue at the heart of Western United’s work on and off the football pitch.
Western United General Manager of Commercial Chris Speldewinde explained the club’s core focus on the mental side of life amongst the local community.
“We acknowledge the role we can play in supporting our western Melbourne community and we are thrilled to be partnering with Lifeline Western Melbourne to tackle mental health,” Speldewinde said in a Western United statement.
“It has been great to bring this partnership to life through support from our Premier Partner Victoria University and now Principal Partner Sharp EIT Solutions, highlighting the significant role Lifeline Western Melbourne plays in our local community.”
Michael Parker, Lifeline Head of Corporate and Community Partnerships, expressed his gratitude towards Western United for their help and support through this partnership.
“Lifeline Western Melbourne is delighted to be working alongside Western United as Charity Partner for season 2023/24. At Lifeline, we work in the community for the community, so it is great to be aligning with an organisation who shares such a strong commitment to supporter and mental health and wellbeing of the local community,” Parker said in a Lifeline statement.
“We believe it is vital for Lifeline Western Melbourne to partner with organisations like Western United to ensure we play our part in supporting people with their mental health and wellbeing.”
It’s fantastic to see another A-League club take the initiative to partner with such a committed company like Lifeline to tackle the important mental health issues that affect so many in the local community.
To express interest in Lifeline’s Crisis Supporter Training, contact Lifeline at ldtraining@lifeline.org.au.
If you or anyone you know needs support or if this story has caused you any distress, please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.