The Beenleigh Sports Club Prides Itself on Being a Cornerstone of the Beenleigh Community

(A summary of the Beenleigh Sports Club’s community engagement strategy for the 01 July 2007 – 30 June 2008 financial year) Overview

The Beenleigh Sports Club prides itself on being a cornerstone of the Beenleigh community. The thing that is unique about Beenleigh Sports Club's relationship with the local region is the depth of the relationship.

All this makes the Club realise more sharply the responsibilities to the region that we have as a contributing incorporation, to the development of juniors and adults alike in sport, and the development of the facilities to expand with the local growth.

We strive to be good corporate citizens with roots planted firmly in the local area. By further strengthening the cohesion and achieving a higher level of accord within the region, our aspiration is to help a vibrant and prosperous society.

Contributing to society is not just a matter of spending money for donations and financial support. There is a more important aspect that should not be overlooked. It is what I call the people aspect, where the public comes into contact with our employees. That is why we place the emphasis on the staff to make every member and guest feel welcome and well catered for, a fact that is proven by the regular attendance of our loyal members and their continuing support for their Club.

Clubs are all about community, lifestyle and involvement. From this stems a sports club that provides an entertainment destination to 9,000 members (and counting) plus welcomes approximately 10,000 visitors each year with a smile. Visitors are presented with a safe, friendly environment in which to socialise. Its popularity is in part due to the first class amenities on offer coupled with free entertainment in excess of $138,000 each year.

This equates to over 200 shows providing residents with the opportunity to meet new people, dance and lead an active lifestyle whilst being entertained. Beenleigh Sports Club proudly boasts that Tuesday’s Morning Melodies is totally designed for the elderly in mind, in particular the Beenleigh Senior Citizens, whose building is in the adjacent car park. The entertainment is based on songs from their generation, prompting many elderly patrons to burst into tune whilst travelling up the lift to the Bistro.

This service from the staff, and the Club's amenities, are testament to the dependability and allegiance that our members display towards this Club, and we offer them thanks for their continuing loyalty by way of providing up-to-date facilities and a safe environment. This provides a platform for the Club to execute a broad community engagement strategy, which is beneficial to all residents of Beenleigh and beyond.

Blueprint of the Beenleigh Sports Community Engagement Strategy

Despite the Club supporting numerous sporting organisations and charities, the Beenleigh Sports Club has remained extremely supportive of the game of Tennis, Cricket, AFL, Fishing and Junior Rugby League, and this will always be the blueprint to their community engagement strategy.

The extent of this support can be evidenced by the fact that Beenleigh Sports Club is the only club in the Beenleigh area, which encompasses the above sporting bodies from one base, to the extent that the total membership of adults of these affiliated clubs extends past 11% of the membership base. There is, of course, then a consideration of the juniors associated with this membership, in which Beenleigh Sports Club endeavours to provide every means possible to develop and provide support for these juniors to realise their dreams in their chosen field of sport.

Over the past 25 years, the focus of Beenleigh Sports Club has changed considerably and the scope broadened extensively. This has been largely due to our commitment to consistently recognising the changing trends in the delivery of sport, sporting facilities and subsequent requirements of the sporting bodies.

Short-term Focus

The Beenleigh Sports Club Board of Directors in conjunction with the General Manager have made a dedicated effort to improving health and well-being of residents and members through their community work.

With this in mind the Beenleigh Sports Club have committed an enormous amount of time, effort and financial support to the local charity event of the Cane Queen Festival, together with our close affiliates, Beenleigh PCYC. The extent of this support is demonstrated in the fact that our last three entrants were crowned both Miss Charity Cane Queen and Cane Queen. Their charity work resulted in several worthy local aid organisations gaining substantial financial gain from their efforts.

The Club is also on board to raise funds for the Smile for a Child foundation and is committed to exceed the $9,600 which was realised by November 2007. This is on top of the Club’s previous commitments such as fundraising events and sponsorships.

Health and well-being is also a motivating factor as the Club is moving towards embracing all the local retirement homes and hospices, by providing a free bus service to allow our elderly community to get involved in a fun-day out directed at the older generation, who in today’s society appears to be widely forgotten.

Beenleigh First Policy

Whilst the Beenleigh Sports Club support reaches well beyond the barriers of the Northern Gold Coast, the Club insists upon a strong “Beenleigh First” policy when it comes to whom they do business with and whom they purchase from.

Having a benefit of a loyal staff base of 30; 95% of which live locally, the Club injects $1.022m back into the local economy each year through its payroll. Over and above this figure, more than $19,000 is spent on staff training, which provides employees with career advancement opportunities and ensures the Club maintains the highest possible levels of customer service. The economy also benefits from a catering department, purchasing over $230,000 in fresh food and produce each year. All meals are offered at extremely economical prices and contribute to an annual member discount expense in excess of $127,000.

As part of the “Beenleigh First” policy the Beenleigh Sports Club is an active member of the Beenleigh/Yatala Chamber of Commerce, which works with local businesses in building the Beenleigh/Yatala brand and attracting visitors to the region.

Another highlight on the community calendar, in conjunction with the Gold Coast City Council is the New Years Eve fireworks display. Recognising the benefits a community can draw from staging this type of event, the Club is very proud of the fact that they have celebrated five continuous years of putting on the fireworks display. From the event’s initiation the Club stipulated that the fireworks be held at 9pm, so that the local community could attend with their children, enabling the younger generation an appreciation of the fun and excitement for this annual event.

This Year’s Beneficiaries

The grand total for the Clubs financial year 2007-2008, including all donations, sponsorships and grants was $98,491.00. This is a figure that all members are extremely proud of, and thankful for. The complete list appears on the following page:

Beenleigh Buffaloes AFL Club Inc Beenleigh Junior Buffaloes AFL Club Inc Beenleigh Junior Rugby League Inc Beenleigh Logan Cricket Association Inc Beenleigh Logan Junior Cricket Association Inc Beenleigh Tennis Inc Beenleigh Junior Tennis Inc Beenleigh Yatala Chamber of Commerce Beenleigh Yatala Junior Chamber of Commerce BlueCare Cane Queen Charity Festival Child Safety Handbook Club’s Smile for a Child Dauth Park Fishing Club Eagleby State School Guide Dogs Jeans for Genes Day Jacobs Well Volunteer Marine Rescue Legacy Mt Warren Pony Club National Breast Cancer Foundation PCYC – Beenleigh Pimpama State School Police Union Journal RSPCA