Dow Chemical has supported AFL Barwon’s 22,000 football and netball players for almost 40 years, in one of Geelong’s longest-running partnerships.
“That’s been around for a long, long time, it’s definitely one of our longest,” says AFL Barwon’s Dan O’Keefe.
“It’s enormous – not just for our administration here running the Geelong and Bellarine football leagues – it really strengthens the community.”
Dow is the official partner of this year’s Bellarine Football Netball League Premiership Season, which is fitting given the company’s Moolap plant is on the peninsula.
“They’ve got a lot of staff that are connected with clubs and the region,” Dan says.
AFL Barwon is a not-for-profit organisation and all business contributions go into the local footy community, he explains.
Which is why Dow has been involved with AFL Barwon for so long, says Steve McConnell, the company’s Geelong site leader.
“It’s a great use of our money to spend it in the community,” he says.
“Our employees are very proud to be a part of it – a lot of them have sons and daughters that play.
“We’re proud of the partnership because of the amount of people it helps.”
Dow’s annual contribution helps support AFL Barwon’s 12,500 footballers, 5600 netballers and more than 3000 Auskick players.
Steve gets a kick himself out of seeing that partnership come to life in local footy games.
“If you hang around during finals it’s an amazing atmosphere and community spirit.”
