Surf Coast Little Aths gets grant from Coles

SURF Coast Little Athletics will have better gear in its second season thanks to a $5,000 grant from Coles.

The latest round of grants season from the Coles Little Athletics Community Fund takes the national supermarket chain’s donation to grassroots Little Athletics centres to more than $2.2 million in four years.

The funding helps centres buy new sports and safety equipment such as javelins, discuses, hurdles and defibrillators to support aspiring athletes and community volunteers.

Surf Coast Little Athletics president Claire Osborn said the Coles grant will help the centre to grow in its second season.

“The grant will help contribute towards a timing gates system which will help us to accurately record results for our young competitors,” she said.

“This system will reduce the burden on parent volunteers to stand at the end of each lane and time the races and will enhance the overall enjoyment of the athletes and their families participating in the program. This contribution will go a long way towards improving our centre and our capacity to deliver a high-quality Little Athletics program.”

This year’s grants have been made possible with money raised by Coles, its banana growers and customers during the inaugural Coles Little Athletics Banana A-Peel held earlier this year, when 10 cents of every kilogram of Cavendish bananas sold in Coles supermarkets was donated to the cause.

Coles acting state general manager Daniel Ellul said the supermarket chain was delighted to continue to support grassroots Little Athletics centres in Victoria through initiatives such as the Coles Little Athletics Community Fund and banana donations.

“Coles has been a proud supporter of Little Athletics for over five years, and we’re delighted to provide over $50,000 in sports equipment grants to Victoria’s Little Athletics centres to help them gear up for this season.

“We know very well the impact the pandemic has had on local clubs and communities over the past two years, and we hope these grants will help them to recover and look forward to a new Little Athletics season ahead.”

More than $250,000 in sports equipment grants were distributed to 73 Little Athletics centres across Australia in the latest round of grants from the Coles Little Athletics Community Fund.

Since the fund was established four years ago, Little Athletics Victoria groups have shared in nearly $500,000 from money raised and donated by Coles and its banana growers and customers.