I draw your attention to the club’s new initiative to assist in the well-being of its players, coaches and community.

The scheme involves the ready availability of counseling and career support, well-being resources, and information exchanges.

If the calamity of 2020 taught us anything, it is that people really miss their football and the camaraderie and friendships that develop between teammates and supporters.

The OXFC is in the hearts of so many in our community and we have built our club on that. We ask our players to play for the love of the game and we expect them to dedicate themselves to their teams. We ask our supporters to back our club through financial contributions and volunteer assistance, so it is highly appropriate that we try to repay that generosity.

COVID has been more than a detriment to physical health. It has had a severe impact on finances, jobs, and mental health and we hope that our well-being program can help repair some of the damage done to people in our Red 'n' Black circle.

We have put together a program that touches on many aspects of well-being and it is available to all in our community.

Our partnership with Converge International breaks new ground. It will enable our community to access free and confidential counseling support from one of the most experienced corporate mental health care providers in Australia. For information about Converge, please see here

Additionally,  we offer career coaching as well as CV and interview preparation as well as access to casual and permanent employment.

Our information exchanges will feature a series of tests covering mental, career, and financial fitness as well as the continuing Game Changers seminars.

As we experience another lockdown, it’s a timely opportunity to take a look at our recently launched Well-Being Directory, located on our website.

While the directory is primarily aimed at supporting our players and coaches with career and professional counselling information we have included information and resources, such as articles and mobile apps to assist in providing strategies to coping with stress, anxiety, or distress. These can be accessed here.

Additionally, our Information exchange section of the Directory provides you with access to our Game Changers series of inspirational speakers who provide insights into their personal challenges and their approach to overcoming adversity. Access to this section is here

We are indebted to our club Well-Being officer Paul Lefebvre for putting together this extensive program and invite everyone in our community to familiarise themselves and to make use of the available resources and help on offer.

We would like to believe that our football club can be a safe harbour for all members of our community and that if we can’t provide direct help to those who need it, then we can point them to those who can.

It’s important, during this challenging time, that we take the time out to support one another, as best we can, during periods of lockdown and isolation. Take the time to connect with friends, teammates, supporters and family with a call, a text, or a Zoom catch-up.

Stay safe and we look forward to seeing you back at the footy. (Hopefully, this is sooner rather than later.)

Matt Cosgrave

President

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