By Nick Creely
Officer Junior Football Club youngster Oliver Bailey has an incredibly mature head on his shoulders.
Like any footballing loving kid, he loves running around with his teammates on the weekend, but also understands that footy has a powerful way of bringing people together for a greater cause.
That’s why Oliver – much like he did last year – has taken it upon himself to raise funds for Maddie Riewoldt’s Vision, an organisation dedicated to funding medical research about Bone Marrow Failure Syndromes (BMFS).
The organisation aims to fund the research projects and people who can discover important breakthroughs in this particular area of medicine,
Maddie – who was the sister of Saints legend Nick Riewoldt and the cousin of Tigers champion Jack Riewoldt – passed away on 24 February 2015, after a five year battle with Aplastic Anaemia, which is a disease of the bone marrow, meaning that the bone marrow stops making enough red bloods cells, white blood cells and platelets for the body.
Oliver, who has been an active volunteer of the organisation after becoming inspired by Maddie’s story of bravery and resilience, has once again organised his very own ‘Maddie’s Match’, with the entire junior football club set to become involved on 30 June, the same day that Richmond and St Kilda will do battle in the AFL’s version at Marvel Stadium.
It’s one of the most important rounds on the footballing calendar – a day where football takes a back seat – and Oliver wants to do all he can to help find a cure.
“When I heard that she had Bone Marrow Failure, I thought that I should raise money for it, so when somebody else gets it, they can find a cure and they don’t have to suffer like she did,” Oliver said.
The Officer youngsters (a total of 18 teams) will don the purple laces – which was Maddie’s favourite colour– during their junior matches on the day, all with the aim of raising awareness and funds for the Vision. There will also be opportunities to donate money to the cause on the day, or beforehand.
Incredibly, Oliver – along with his junior club – has helped raise over $1800 for Maddie Riewoldt’s Vision for this year’s event, including over 361 pairs of laces – but is setting his sights higher with still just under two weeks to go until the event.
“We raised almost $750 last year,” he said.
“But I’ve already raised way more than last year, over $1500, and my target is $2000.
“I want to help find a cure, it’s really important.”
Oliver is a mad Hawthorn supporter who believes he plays like James Sicily because he gets “angry” on the field, but has a soft spot for the Saints. While he wants to keep improving on his footy, he’s focusing all of his energy for now on joining the fight to finding a cure for BMFS.
To find out more about Maddie Riewoldt’s Vision, head to www.mrv.org.au, or find them on Facebook. To find about more about Officer’s event, head to the club’s Facebook page.
