The inclusive all-ability BlowFly Cricket Club is powered by around 160 caring volunteers, including 91-year-old Dougal Graham, who makes a major contribution by recycling containers at Return and Earn to help fund club activities.
‘Blowflies’ founder Mark Rushton said the funds raised through Return and Earn go back into a coaching academy run by the unique club.
“Dougal has been part of my life for about 30 years. He’s fantastic,” Mr Rushton said.
“Dougal has been collecting containers for us since October 2021.
“We didn’t start recording the number of bottles and cans until about six months after he started, and we estimate he collected about 5,000 containers in that time for us.
“Now he has got up to 126,402 containers.”
Recycling 10c drink containers through Return and Earn has raised over $12,000 for the Blowies.
The money is used for the Uncoachables Academy, a specialist program developed by the Blowies to provide coaching opportunities for cricket players over 14 years and living with special needs and/or intellectual disabilities.
Over 35 Blowies have been mentored under the program to achieve their Cricket Australia Accredited Community Coaching qualification.
“We get them to their level one coaching qualification - it is Cricket Australia accredited – and take them into schools to do coaching clinics and some children’s holiday camps,” Mr Rushton said.
“These are priceless experiences. And the money we raise from Return and Earn and other fundraising initiatives allows us to pay them the regular $50 fee for a coaching session.
“We also go into schools and don’t charge them anything. It costs us between two and three thousand dollars every term. Our coaches just go in and instruct their stuff.
“They get so confident and it is really so good.”
Support for the Blowie’s Return and Earn fundraising comes from local clubs, who put containers aside for Dougal to collect.
“He is just astonishing,” Mr Rushton said.
“Even on a 40-degree summer day, he’ll come to the BlowFly Cricket Centre at James Park on a Saturday and help volunteers with the barbeque for all the players and then on the way home, he’ll go to a couple of clubs and pick up 500 bottles and cans as well.”
- To learn more about the BlowFly Cricket Club visit Play Cricket and https://www.blowflycricket.com/
- To donate container refunds to the club search for “BlowFly Cricket’ on the Return and Earn app.
