Through donations, community support and engagement, supporting charities, the volunteer network and the numerous player appearances, the Sharks consistently show they 'Have Heart'.
Sharks Have Heart, the community arm of the Cronulla Sharks, aims to inspire, engage and endorse equality within our community and they do it through the three pillars of 'Inclusivity and Diversity', 'Social Impact' and 'Have Heart'.
In displaying just how much 'heart' they have for the both the local and wider community, Sharks Have Heart made donations, engaged with many and empowered volunteers to make a substantial contribution during 2018.
As Sharks Football Club CEO Barry Russell explained, the vision is for Sharks Have Heart to be recognised as a world class community engagement and social impact organisation.
"Our commitment is unflinching. Using football as the vehicle, we continue to make a meaningful and sustainable contribution, resulting in a healthy, vibrant and stronger community," Russell said.
Although all the work being done is not necessarily measurable, the engagement, donation and volunteer numbers indicate that during the past year, the Sharks footprint in the community has been considerable.
On the donation front, Sharks Have Heart provided over $60,000 worth of tickets, jerseys to the amount of $81,000, $18,000 in additional items, as well as time, resources and grant monies, to 71 different charities and community organisations.
On the engagement front, the NRL playing group spent 2,364 hours in the community, totaling 61,362 player engagements, 23,941 of those at 82 schools.
And assisting Sharks Have Heart were 60 volunteers, many through the Sharkcrew program, contributing almost 1,400 hours, with the Sharks also providing eight internships to University students.
In 2018, Capital Bluestone and its Managing Director Ben Fairfax identified an opportunity to align their brand with the work and programs undertaken with Sharks Have Heart and to build on their current community involvement.
"Capital Bluestone is now the proud Platinum partner of Sharks Have Heart and we are honoured to be associated with the Cronulla Sharks Community legacy," Fairfax said.
"Not only has the partnership provided us with another opportunity to be a part of the local community, but it has enable us to share in a great legacy of inclusiveness and community give-back, with some of the programs and initiatives delivered being truly inspiring."
To read the full 2018 Sharks Have Heart report, including forwards by Barry Russell and Ben Fairfax, information detailing the work carried out, programs delivered and the engagement provided, as well as testimonials from parent, students and members of the community - CLICK HERE
