No Dog Left Behind, the Heart of the Community
Cronulla RSL have been announced a winner of the 2023 ClubsNSW Clubs & Community Awards, in the ‘Heart of the Community’ category.
The Heart of the Community Award recognises the outstanding efforts of clubs that have had a significant positive impact on their community by contributing to and/or improving the social, cultural, financial or environmental wellbeing of the community.
The Club’s nomination “No Dog Left Behind” was based on these club’s fundraising efforts to support the Australian War Animal Memorial Organsiation (AWAMO) and the Sutherland Shire’s local Veteran War Dog, . In addition, Cronulla RSL was recognised as the first RSL club in NSW to establish an AWAMO supported memorial plaque for war animals and the first club in Australia to provide a retired war veteran dog club membership.
All finalist’s stories were reviewed by an independent panel of judges, who scored the nominations based on a judging criteria. Judges for 2023 included Gemma Rygate (CEO The Centre for Volunteering), Nathan Hindmarsh (ClubsNSW Ambassador), Louise Roberts (National Editor 360 Commercial for News Corp Australia) & Steve Pearce (CEO Surf Life Saving NSW).
Winners of the awards were announced at the 2023 Clubs & Community Awards Night, held in Sydney on the 18th May.
Cronulla CRSL CEO, Sue McNeill said ‘Manic has been coming to our club for the past three ANZAC Days, and has become really well known in our community. It would be great to see the other retired military war dogs be looked after too; the club’s industry is the perfect place for that to happen’
‘The club would like to thank the Cronulla RSL Board of Directors & the Cronulla RSL Sub-Branch, for their support in helping us place a great emphasis on this cause. We must also acknowledge our incredible staff, who work tirelessly and passionately behind the scenes, to bring our ideas to life.’
‘A very special thank you Manic’s family, as they have allowed us to put the spotlight on Manic to help tell the story. Manic has become an ambassador for all working dogs, animals impacted by war & AWAMO’ said McNeill.
Because of the typical age of military working dog’s retirement, the people who take on responsibility for veteran dogs are unable to take out pet insurance to help with the costs of their veterinary care. Unfortunately, many of the significant health costs come at the end of a dog’s life. This can be a significant impost on those that have given our military working dogs their retirement home.
AWAMO are currently working tirelessly to support and provide much-needed food, medication, and ground support to those helping the innocent animals of Ukraine suffering through conflict via their sub-branch, Australian Animal Aid.
‘We hope that our efforts encourage other clubs to support their local service dog, and get behind AWAMO’ McNeill said.
To help inspire organisations such as clubs and schools around Australia, to commemorate War Animal Day on February 24th each year, Cronulla RSL have established a helpful downloadable guide, to assist staff with implementing the special day in their commemorative calendar. This also includes a template letter, for individuals to use to approach their local club about supporting animals impacted by war.
The Club will now work with AWAMO to help identify the location of other retired Military Working Dogs, and encourage their local club to provide support.
Cronulla RSL was also nominated for an award in the ‘Arts & Culture’ category, which recognises clubs empowering and developing arts and culture in the community, including supporting artists and performers, celebrating Indigenous culture, and helping provide public programming such as festivals, events, music, film, performing arts, and the presentation of literature.
The “Walk the Walls” nomination focused on The Club’s sponsorship of the Sutherland Shire Council’s Cronulla Walk the Walls Festival, and the transformation of the club’s car park wall in an effort to beautify our urban space, reduce crime and support artists.
For more information on
Memorial Garden https://cronullarsl.com.au/cronulla-rsl-community/memorialgarden
Fundraising 2023 https://cronullarsl.com.au/cronulla-rsl-community/anzacday23
Fundraising 2022 https://cronullarsl.com.au/cronulla-rsl-community/anzacdayfundraising
War Animal Day https://cronullarsl.com.au/cronulla-rsl-community/war-animal-day-23 https://www.cronullarslcommunity.com.au/waranimalday
War Animal Day Guide https://www.cronullarslcommunity.com.au/waranimaldayguide
