When it comes to charitable acts, Royal Wolf is kicking goals – just like the players at the Kangaroo Point Rovers, a Brisbane-based football club with a rich history.
Five years ago, Royal Wolf gave the community club fee-free lease of a shipping container to use for storage. The company has now gifted the container to the Rovers permanently.
“We first donated the free hire and delivery of a 20-foot shipping container to the club back in 2017,” says Brendon Greatrex, Royal Wolf Regional Manager – Queensland.
“This year, we had a look at the units we had out there that we weren’t charging hire fees for and decided to support a number of those groups, including the Kangaroo Point Rovers Football Club, by gifting them the containers they were using,” he says.
Royal Wolf Regional Sales Manager, Sarah Garland, says when they realised how long the Kangaroo Point Rovers had been leasing the container free of charge, she called the club to check if they were still using it.
“When I learned they were still utilising the container and that they were a smaller club who would need to look for funding if they had to hire it, we decided to donate it to them,” Sarah explains.
Sarah then called the club to give them the good news.
“They were so grateful, and I was happy that we were able to help in that way,” she says.
PRICELESS SUPPORT
For the volunteer-run social football club, which started out as the Pineapple Rovers way back in 1886, the generous donation goes a long way.
“It’s just something that you really can’t put a price on, because putting all of our equipment in there saves us money for the next year and it’s just a perpetual saving for us,” Kangaroo Point Rovers Football Club President Peter Polichronis says.
“We’re not a massive club, we don’t have a lot of money, and we’re run by volunteers – so to have any form of sponsorship is absolutely amazing for us.
“Every year we spend a few thousand dollars on new equipment and that kind of thing, so having somewhere to store it where it’s safe and it’s not going to get damaged is just amazing.”
The 180-member club provides a safe, fun environment for men and women to be active and meet new people, without the stress of being super competitive.
“We’re an inner-city club, and when people move to a new city, a lot of them see sport as a way to meet people and become part of something,” Peter explains.
“We want members to enjoy playing the game without any pressures and enjoy the social aspect as well.”
VITAL STORAGE SPACE
The container serves as a vital storage space for the club, which has just one playing field and a small clubhouse to accommodate the needs of eight teams.
“We essentially have one storage room in the clubhouse, and when you have a tractor and goals and things like that, it’s just not enough. So the storage facility that Royal Wolf is providing is amazing. I honestly don’t know what we’d do without it,” Peter says.
In addition to the tractor and goals, the container is used to store items such as line-marking and training equipment, numbers for the scoreboard, and a barbecue.
While the club leases the sports field from the local council, it does a lot of the maintenance and upkeep of the grounds – hence the tractor.
“Before we got the container, we were storing stuff inside the clubhouse, which is quite messy. When people come into the canteen area, you don’t want them to see a tractor or the stuff we’re training with,” he laughs.
SWEET CHARITY
Being able to support various community organisations through lease-free and donated containers is a source of pride for Brendon, whose team hires out Royal Wolf storage products.
“This year we’ve been in a position where we’ve been able to help a number of community groups with some charitable acts,” Brendon explains.
“I really support it, especially helping community organisations and those who are working with the disadvantaged. I like the fact that Royal Wolf is so charitable and works with the community – it makes me proud to be a part of it.”
Sarah shares the same sentiment.
“It’s great to work for a company that recognises smaller clubs and understands that they rely on donations to keep running. I love being able to pick up the phone and brighten someone’s day. It makes me really proud to work for Royal Wolf,” she says.