Written by Bryce Warnke
The UN declared the 5th of September as an International Day of Charity.
This day highlights the importance of giving back to your local community or even providing life saving support to those in need all over the world.
Whatever this may be, any donation small or large goes a long way.
Bryce Warnke shares his story below on how he and his Football team mates raised thousands of dollars for Bathurst Headspace.
Headspace Cup
The annual Headspace Cup, first established in 2016, is a tradition that the Charles Sturt University Football Club (CSUFC) hosts alongside Bathurst District Football (BDF).
Every year , it brings together all the clubs within the Bathurst District to raise money for Headspace Bathurst with a focus on bringing attention to raising awareness for mental health.
The 2023 Headspace Cup ran from the 4th– 6th of August which saw a range of events happening over the weekend.
It all kicked off with a trivia night that is held at the Oxford Hotel’s B-Town BBQ where members from the university, players, and the public took their knowledge to general questions from around the world and insights into who Headspace Bathurst is.
The Saturday saw the start of the fundraising where tents were set up with donations buckets, EFTPOS machines, and headspace cup merch at Proctor Park with the junior games underway.
Sunday was the main day where not only were the tents up, but people were walking around with donation buckets and bets being placed.
These bets were done amongst the players where players, BDF, and members of the public place donations if a certain member or player of the club or committee scored goals or made plays.
The biggest event of the weekend is seeing throughout the Sunday the clash between Bathurst District Football clubs and CSUFC.
The goal is whoever wins the most games throughout the day between BDF and CSUFC between the grades, will win the trophy for the year.
When it was first created, CSUFC had won, whereas since 2017, the trophy has remained in the trophy cabinet of BDF.
CSUFC was looking at claiming the trophy back in the 2023 Headspace Cup, but unfortunately, CSUFC won two games, drew 2, and lost 3 games amongst the grade which saw BDF hold onto the trophy for another year.
CSUFC was proudly able to raise $9,200 for the 2023 cup, which unfortunately didn’t beat the record, but is still a huge amount raised to be donated over to Headspace Bathurst.
This included donations from clubs like Bathurst City Red Tops FC and Abercrombie FC donating $500 and Macquarie United FC donating $300.
I believe it is an important factor that as students at a university, we promote not only Headspace Bathurst but also promote and raise awareness of mental health.
With stressful times with studying, working, and having just come out of a pandemic, mental health can affect anyone, not just on campus.
On behalf of the CSUFC committee and club, I’d like to send a massive thanks to everyone who was involved during the weekend for whatever contributions you made.
From making small donations to watching games or even making posts on your own social media, every little bit that happened over the weekend was noticed.
We are extremely grateful for not only everyone’s effort this year but also everyone’s commitment to it in previous years as well.
The Headspace Cup will be back in 2024 even bigger and better where we hope to claim back the trophy from BDF!
A final note.
Thank you again to Bryce and the CSUFC committee for raising money for Headspace Bathurst.
Taking time out of your day and helping the community is rewarding.
We encourage all readers to donate to charity or give a helping hand on this significant day.
