Sharks Leagues Club was the venue for the Sutherland Shire Men’s Breakfast on Wednesday, an event which brings together good men to support initiatives aimed at ending violence in our community
Supported by Sharks Have Heart and Woolooware Bay, with attendees invited by Mayor Carmelo Pesce and the Sutherland Shire Council, 80 influential males were at the Men’s Breakfast, representing a huge spike from only 30 in the room t the event’s first year in 2016.
It was the fourth time the Men’s Breakfast has been held at Sharks Leagues Club.
The Breakfast included a ‘call to action’ for local community members to stand up, act and put a stop to domestic violence and to support local programs and initiatives.
In addition to Sutherland Shire Mayor Pesce, Councillors Ray Plibersek, Michael Forshaw and Tom Croucher, George’s River Mayor Kevin Greene, Member for Heathcote Lee Evans, Member for Cronulla and NSW Attorney General, Mark Speakman, as well as Sharks Group CEO Richard Munro were guests at the breakfast.
Capital Bluestone’s Managing Director Ben Fairfax was one of the key note speakers, discussing his passion and commitment to local organisations including Sutherland Shire Family Services (through the Sharks Have Heart partnership), while aiding programs such as Love Bites in promoting respectful relationships within the community
Fairfax also spoke about being a ‘White Ribbon’ accredited work place and ensuring projects they are involved with, such as Woolooware Bay, conduct ‘Tool Box Talks’ as part of their site inductions to educate construction workers on domestic violence issues.
Chris Futcher-Coles, the event MC, conducts his own community programs through ‘Stay Safe Australia’, while the main speaker of the morning Daniel Boyd, who lost his mother to a domestic violence incident, shared the impact it had on him, his family and the local community.
In speaking at the Men’s Breakfast, Boyd hoped to encourage the influential men in the room to assist with reducing the numbers and therefore the impact of domestic violence in Australia.
Sutherland Shire Council will continue their efforts in this crucial area with the upcoming annual walk, this year to occur on Friday, November 22 beginning at Don Lucas Reserve.
Participants, which will include Sharks staff and the full NRL squad, walk from Don Lucas Reserve starting at 9am, ending at Dunningham Park where formalities will follow.
The walk will be a free event, with the public encouraged to show their support by taking part.
The Men’s Breakfast and the annual walk, as well as other local events wouldn’t be possible without the support of Sutherland Shire Council.
Sharks Have Heart and Woolooware Bay sponsored the Men’s Breakfast as a part of their efforts to engage with the local community.
