Richmond’s annual Alannah & Madeline Foundation match will take place next Sunday, August 2, against the West Coast Eagles at the MCG.

The Alannah & Madeline Foundation match is a special day on the Richmond calendar, as the Tiger Army rallies together to support a cause far bigger than football. 

Help support the Alannah & Madeline Foundation at Richmond’s Round 21 match against West Coast. Click here to buy.

Since partnering in 2012, Richmond and the Alannah & Madeline Foundation have shared one of the longest charity partnerships in Australian sport, helping children live free from violence and trauma, and supporting thousands of young people in crisis.

Over the past 14 years, Richmond and the Tiger Army have raised more than $2.3 million for the Foundation, an incredible feat everyone associated with the Club should be proud of.

This year’s match focuses on Buddy Bags and how important they are for children in emergency care.

Buddy Bags are backpacks thoughtfully packed for vulnerable children across Australia experiencing crisis, trauma, or just doing it tough.

Every year, around 11,000 children and young people across Australia are taken into the care of child protection authorities, because they are at serious risk of harm, or have no other safe place to live, while many more experience trauma in the face of natural disasters and other hardships.

These experiences can leave children and young people feeling scared and alone, often placing them in unfamiliar environments. Many arrive with nothing but the clothes they are wearing and with no other belongings.

The Alannah & Madeline Foundation provide Buddy Bags to these children and young people, to help meet their immediate material and personal care needs and to give them a sense of security and comfort as the first step on their journey to safety and recovery.

Buddy Bags are filled with carefully selected items that focus on the physical, emotional, and mental wellbeing of children and young people.

The Buddy Bag backpacks include new pyjamas, socks, underwear, a toothbrush, toothpaste, face washer, hairbrush, a book to relax the mind, a trauma-informed toy for healing play, and an all-important teddy bear to cuddle for emotional comfort.

A Buddy Bag is something tangible a child or young person can call their own, helping to meet their immediate need. It also shows them they are special, that people care for them, and that they matter.

Earlier this year, a group of Richmond players helped pack Buddy Bags at the Alannah & Madeline Foundation headquarters, doing their bit to help support children in emergency care. 

You can help provide a Buddy Bag for a child in need for just $58. Click here to donate now and together we can help children recover and heal from trauma.

There are also other ways for the Tiger Army to help support the Alannah & Madeline Foundation, including:

• Bring a buddy and attend the Round 21 match against the Eagles. Click here to buy tickets.
• Click here to buy an Alannah & Madeline Foundation membership for just $65.
• Add some purple to your yellow and black merchandise collection by buying a Richmond x Alannah & Madeline Foundation beanie or scarf in-store at the Roar Store, with profits going to the Foundation

Richmond hosts West Coast at the MCG on Sunday, August 2, at 1:10pm.