2020 COMMUNITY ANNUAL REPORT AN INTRODUCTION

Since the Brisbane Broncos inception in 1988 our organisation has had a strong and unwavering commitment to our community. 2020 was a year like no other, and the club remained steadfast in its’ determination to deliver our programs and support those who need it most. The unprecedented times saw Broncos staff and students change the way they interact, with digital connections established to ensure our Beyond the Broncos program participants were supported and mentored through an extremely difficult time. We celebrated over 180 students graduating Year 12, with our students’ hard work being acknowledged with leadership positions and we welcomed more schools to the Girls Academy program. Through our programs and continued partnership with Deadly Choices, we have expanded our commitment to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and are incredibly proud of the legacy we have created off the field. The Broncos have a unique opportunity to provide leadership and to effect change throughout a cross-section of society. In a challenging year we are grateful to be able to offer our support to those in our community who so loyally support our club.

KARL MORRIS Brisbane Broncos Chairman

2A 2 3 BRISBANE BRONCOS CHARITIES FUND

The Brisbane Broncos Charities Fund was established in 1990 as a part of the club’s commitment to the Queensland community and has surpassed over $2million in donations to those doing it tough.

The fund was not able to provide as many donations in 2020 due to Covid-19 and an inability to fundraise, but fortunately the following organisations were able to benefit from donations early in the year: Cerebral Palsy League, Children’s Hospital Foundation, Friends with Dignity and the I Give A Buck Foundation. The funds were able to assist a young girl named Abby, who was badly injured after she fell from her horse whilst at home in Laidley. Abby had been hospitalized since July 2019 after suffering a C1-2 Spinal Cord Injury – one of the most severe kind. Unfortunately, Abby has no feeling or control of her legs, torso or upper limbs and needs constant ventilation. Abby’s injury also means the muscles controlling her cough reflex don’t work, meaning she requires a special ‘Cough Assist’ Device which she will need to use for the rest of her life. The Brisbane Broncos Charities Fund was able to pledge $2,000 towards the purchase of the device, which Abby has now received meaning she could go home after a long stint away from her family and beloved horses.

BRISBANE BRONCOS CHARITY PARTNER PROGRAM The Charity Partner Program welcomed twelve Queensland charities in 2020. In an effort to give back to the community and support the people that support the club, the chosen charities have values that align with the club and help the most vulnerable in the Queensland community.

2020 Charity Partners included Act for Kids, Aunties and Uncles, Camp Quality, Foodbank Queensland, Men of League, MND and Me Foundation, PCYC Queensland, Ronald McDonald House Charities South East Queensland, Rural Lifestyle Options Australia, The Sunlight Centre, Wesley Mission and Queensland and Youngcare. Although the program was cut short in 2020, the charity partners were provided with financial and merchandise donations, as well as a 2020 signed jersey and player messages.

4A 4 BEYOND THE BRONCOS MENTORING PROGRAM The Brisbane Broncos are strongly committed to supporting young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to become leaders and role models through providing culturally based support at school and beyond. Our staff work directly within schools and communities to provide targeted and individualised assistance in the form of mentoring and learning support to enhance academic skills required for young people to reach their full potential.

By improving the educational outcomes of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people we help to better prepare them for life after school. The Beyond the Broncos Mentoring Program continues to make an immediate and positive contribution to the Closing the Gap objective of improving Indigenous Year 12 retention and attendance rates in Queensland schools.

In a year of many challenges, the program was still able to expand to include an additional 174 students in Years 7-9 at 5 existing Beyond the Broncos Mentoring schools (Woodcrest State College, Cavendish Rd SHS, Loganlea State High School, Wavell State High School and St Peter Claver College). During the early weeks of Term 2 schooling when the pandemic took over, only around 10 per cent of our students were physically attending school, with the majority of students learning from home. Our mentors proved invaluable in keeping students engaged with their learning. Broncos staff made routine contact with students/carers on at least a weekly basis by phone, email or conducting home visits to check on student wellbeing and to deliver and collect schoolwork where students were unable to access e-learning.

We are very proud of our students’ commitment to making the most of their educational opportunities. In 2020 our completion rate for year 12 students was almost 96 percent. The Beyond the Broncos team continues to develop new and exciting partnerships to support the educational experience and the post-school success of our students. Universities, government, defence, corporate partners and local businesses all continued to offer exciting pathway opportunities and work experience for students, boosting students’ aspirations and post school opportunities. The Beyond the Broncos Indigenous Mentoring program is funded by the Australian Government. 5 BEYOND THE BRONCOS GIRLS ACADEMY

The Beyond the Broncos Indigenous Girls Academy is a program providing culturally safe mentoring support to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students from years 7 to 12. We recognise and value the vital role that young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women play in influencing the next generation. Schools as far west as Cunnamulla, south to Lismore in New South Wales, east to Redlands and north to Gympie participate in the program. We currently employ 32 local Student Support Officers to guide, mentor and support more than 1,800 girls reach their potential, achieve success in education and transition successfully into further study and employment.

With a belief our Girls Academy participants can achieve anything, our school-based Student Support Officers provide academic, cultural and wellbeing support in school and off campus, and through valued relationships and opportunities, encourage ongoing engagement in education, training and employment. Student Support Officers challenge and support our girls through cultural and strengths-based mentoring activities and celebrate their successes.

In 2020, amidst the challenges of social distancing we worked in collaboration with our host schools and supported students through home schooling, delivered workshops, celebrated academic and attendance achievements of our students, observed NAIDOC, held a Leadership camp for our future leaders and celebrated the successful completion of more than 150 Year 12 graduates at our annual Graduation Ceremony.

We are proud of our graduates and the role models they will become for our current participants and in their communities. More than 52% of our graduates will go onto to further education and training. Many of our graduates will go into employment with many girls taking up full time roles with employment opportunities secured through the program. The Beyond the Broncos Indigenous Girls Academy is funded by the Australian Government.

6A 6 BRONCOS BUILDING BRIGHTER FUTURES

Broncos Building Brighter Futures Hospitality Program has provided young disadvantaged Queenslanders dynamic Industry-based training at the home of the Brisbane Broncos, the Clive Berghofer Centre in Red Hill. The certificate II in Hospitality is professionally delivered by Training Direct Australia which includes hands on training at a number of local venues, including the Broncos Leagues Club, Pullman Hotel and the Emporium Hotel.

An important feature of the program is to support and mentor participants to be as job ready as possible and/or have a career pathway plan in place. During each intake there was a lot of advice & instruction provided to the participants on writing resumes, cover letters, how to apply and what to expect in job interviews. Speakers from group training organisations & recruitment specialists also discussed what opportunities are within their networks about apprenticeships, traineeships and other entry-level positions. This training is proudly funded by the Queensland Government through its Skilling Queenslanders for Work initiative.

LEADERSHIP CAMP CHALLENGES STUDENTS In September over 50 students took part in our biggest Beyond the Broncos Leadership Camp to date. Participants travelled from all over Queensland to join program ambassadors Scott Prince, and Ali Brigginshaw as they explored the 2020 theme ‘Your Voice, Your Story’.

The program included a host of activities, with students visiting the Queensland Art Gallery, traditional arts and games, a theatre sport session with Grin & Tonic and an Aboriginal Astronomy session with Krystal De Napoli a Cultural Astronomer. For some students, it was their first chance to experience a camp and allowed them to step outside of their comfort zone and challenge themselves to grow. The experience proved to be extremely emotional and inspiring for the students, with all going home with a renewed sense of pride in their culture and excitement for what their future holds.

7 BRONCOS AID FOODBANK WITH BUSHFIRE APPEAL

Broncos HQ was transformed into a Foodbank Queensland collection point in January 2020 as the community came together to support those affected by bushfires in NSW and the ACT. put the callout to Brisbane locals to donate urgently needed items such as water, tinned food and hygiene items which would be directly delivered to those who need it most. Broncos players , Izaia Perese, and Keenan Palasia were on hand at Foodbank’s Morningside warehouse to drop off a huge amount of donations received at the Clive Berghofer Centre during the week. The players then stayed on to help sort through mountains of donations which had come in during the bushfire appeal.

“It’s great to be able to help out here. I’ve had a bit of guilt not being able to help out those back home due to roads being closed but this is a great opportunity to give back at Foodbank and get our hands dirty,” said Rhys Kennedy, who grew up on the South Coast of NSW.

BRONCOS SPREAD CHRISTMAS CHEER It’s been a while since our Brisbane Broncos stars have been able to mingle with our Queensland Community so our players jumped at the chance to visit those doing it tough just before Christmas. Broncos captain Alex Glenn joined , Tevita Pangai Jnr, Rhys Kennedy and as they visited the Mater Hospital in South Brisbane to say hello to those in the wards and hand out some Broncos merch. The team spread some Christmas cheer, and relished in the opportunity to meet with fans after a year of isolation due to Covid-19.

“It was a pleasure meeting and chatting to the patients at the Mater, and a great chance to wish some of our biggest and most deserving fans a happy Christmas and to let them know we are thinking of them”.

8A 8 BRONCOS RECEIVE SPECIAL INDIGENOUS ROUND BOOTS

Many talented Beyond the Broncos students had the opportunity to paint the boots of their Broncos heroes for the 2020 NRL Indigenous Round. Each with their own story, the boots were inspired by the students’ culture and identity, and tell a story of people coming together.

Bray Park student Sienna painted a pair of boots for , and explained the process behind her work. “I thought it would be an enjoyable experience to do something new, I’ve never painted on boots before”; said Sienna.

Sienna researched Brodie and took a look through his social media to help form the story on his boots. A message which Brodie had posted, “Living Out A Dream” really stood out to Sienna and she based her artwork around this.

Brodie and his teammates , , , , Jack Bird and Cory Paix were all presented with the hand painted boots and the stories behind them.

9 GIRLS ACADEMY PROPELS INDIGENOUS STUDENT TO SCHOOL CAPTAIN ROLE

A Beyond the Broncos Girls Academy student elected to lead Alexandra Hills State High School in 2021 has promised to be an inspiration to more than 150 other Indigenous students at the school.

Sharnie Mellare has been part of our Broncos Girls Academy for the past five years and is a shining example of what the program can help Indigenous girls achieve. She plans to study medicine and become a neurosurgeon after finishing school next year. The Year 11 student is a fantastic ambassador for the program and an amazing role model for the other young Indigenous girls who are being mentored.

It has been a privilege watching Sharni’s development from a shy student into a strong and passionate leader during her time at the Academy. Sharni has already faced significant challenges in her young life, growing up with an Indigenous father who was reluctant to discuss their cultural heritage.

After her father passed away due to a brain aneurysm, Sharni’s mother Tamara encouraged Sharni and her brother to embrace their culture by joining the Beyond the Broncos program. “When I first joined the program in Year 7 I was really insecure, and I lacked a lot of self-confidence,” Sharni said.

“With the support of many of the people at the Beyond the Broncos Academy, I have learnt to embrace who I am and where I come from. I am now a proud Indigenous girl and I want to inspire others to be as well, so they can achieve anything they want to, regardless of their cultural background.”

One of the aims of the Beyond the Broncos Girls Academy is to support students in creating a career pathway for themselves after school. For Sharni, this means going to university to study medicine with the aim of becoming a neurosurgeon in memory of her father. “After my father passed away from a brain aneurysm, I have been really interested in working in the medical field,” she said.

The club’s off the field success stories such as Sharni’s would not have been possible without the support of the Federal Government, State Government and major community partner NRMA Insurance.

10A10 OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS

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