Netball Tasmania has started the 2020 year by donating a wide variety of Netball Tasmania clothing and equipment to the Santo province in Vanuatu. Hope: Candles was founded in 2016, after the sudden passing of Nicholas Banfield; a passionate sailor who navigated around the smaller, less privileged islands of the country to provide support and resources to help communities rebuild after Cyclone Pam wreaked havoc in 2015. Nick's family have committed to maintaining his charitable work now and well into the future.
Hope have extended their foundation to include an education branch, which sees experienced teachers visiting Santo annually to offer teacher to teacher programs in remote and less fortunate schools. Netball Tasmania have embraced the opportunity to collaborate on this project, ensuring that schools have uniform and equipment to build sporting skills and teamwork using netball as a platform.
Madeleine (pictured) is a senior coach delivering netball programs in Vanuatu, and acts as the representative coach to take teams to competitions and development camps. Feedback from Hope: Education manager, Leanne Banfield, suggests that the Netball Tasmania branded clothing will be highly sought after, and the netballs supplied will be treated like treasure. In a bid to provide further support, Netball Tasmania will put out a call to action for associations and clubs within the state to hold a uniform drive, to collect quality products to put toward the next shipment. Items for donation can be given to any of the Netball Tasmania staff, or delivered to the office at Blundstone Arena. Clubs may elect to hold a collection day when convenient, and have items paid forward to Hope: Education.
