Over Matariki Weekend, the Te Awamutu football community showed up to upgrade the Te Awamutu AFC junior site at Sherwin Park, a project named ‘Operation Sherwin’.

30 volunteers, from parents and local business owners to former players and community supporters, arrived early in the morning and achieved an amazing transformation to the site over the day. A concrete slab was poured at the entrance, the roof and walls were painted, the murals decorating the building were touched up, and inside shelving and storage was created to make the space more usable for the junior club and it’s growing numbers. 

Club President Sean Stringfellow (AKA Stringy) says the project was so successful because of the planning and organisation that went into it in the months prior. 

“The club committee identified the work that needed to be done, and one committee member took on the role of project manager. She listed out all 15 tasks we wanted to get done and for each task identified volunteer labour and materials needed. 

This plan was emailed to our entire community 5 or 6 weeks before ‘Operation Sherwin’, asking for donations of materials, and volunteer labour.

This worked brilliantly. With people knowing exactly what was needed, we had people turning up on the day knowing exactly what they were there for and getting stuck in. “

The club had some materials for the project from a donation from Mitre10 in 2023. Stringy says people started to drop off paint and products the week leading up to the event.

First team player Joel Roil took the roll as lead builder, alongside Kitset Assembly Services. Dani Miles of Kihikihi Garage was Project Lead alongside Olivia Roberts who identified what would work functionally in the space.

A number of other local businesses supported the project, with donations of materials and time from Edwards Engineering, Carl Turner Roofing, CMP Decor, Watson Davies Landscape Building and Supplies and Gilby Construction. Dunn Right Electrical came in and lit the place up with rewiring and installing lights prior to work starting.

The concrete was donated to the club by Bowers & Son after we ran a ‘500 likes challenge’ on Facebook.
Stringy says “The real success was the volunteer army who showed up and worked seamlessly together to get the jobs done. The vibe was great, with lots of laughter and stories shared during breaks.”

There's still some work left, but the club looks forward to the new storage area and improved facilities making future training and events much easier to run, no matter the weather.
Stringy says the organisational process the club went through was influenced by the work they have done over the last 6 months as they worked towards the first level of the Xero Stronger Together – Club Support Programme. 

“One trap we were falling into as a committee was always doing the work ourselves. Something we have been deliberately focusing on as a result of Club Support Programme work we did with WaiBOP is getting better at asking for help from the community. Project Sherwin has been an example of how if we can be organised and specific about the work that’s needed, our football community will step up and help.”

Article added: Friday 26 July 2024