Community Crusade

Crusaders commitment to their fans extends beyond the field.

The Crusaders know all about what it takes to reap the ultimate reward on the field – but it’s the less-heralded work they put in away from the game that brings rewards both for the team and the local community that follows them.

“While our focus is on the field, a major part of being a Crusader is the community and charity work we do,” says head coach Todd Blackadder. “We really enjoy getting out and meeting the fans. They give us so much support throughout the year, so it’s great to be able to give a little something back.”

Lending a hand to  Canstruction®

The Crusaders and the humble garden gnome are joining forces to assist with the Christchurch City Mission’s new can-collection initiative, ‘Canstruction® Christchurch’. In March, the Crusaders squad swapped rugby balls for paint brushes to create some gnome masterpieces that will be auctioned off as part of the event.

Canstruction® is an international non-profit organisation that has introduced fun can-collection events in more than 215 cities worldwide. Christchurch’s inaugural Canstruction® design and build competition saw teams create massive structures out of canned food at this year’s Ellerslie Flower Show, which was then donated to the Christchurch City Mission. The theme for this year’s event is “In Our Backyard”, which is where the garden gnomes come in.

“This whole event is about creativity, thinking outside the square and having a bit of fun, while raising important funds, can donations and awareness for the City Mission,” said City Missioner Michael Gorman. “The Crusaders’ gnomes will add another element of fun and will hopefully become a highly sought-after item by Christchurch gardeners, so they collect a good price at auction!”

The Christchurch City Mission Foodbank provides more than 26,000 food packages per year to members of the local community; donations of non-perishable and canned foods is essential to the operation of this service.

Shaving lids for kids

Crusaders Ben Funnell, Jimmy Tupou, Tim Perry, Tyler Bleyendaal and Mitchell Drummond helped shave the heads of some brave volunteers to support the Child Cancer Foundation’s ‘Funrazor’ fundraising event in December.

The Child Cancer Foundation is one of the Crusaders’ ‘Gold Charities’, and this is just one way in which the team helps to awareness and, if possible, raise funds for the foundation.

Sponsor events

The team also take time out of their day to meet and mingle with their sponsors. Placemakers Riccarton recently hosted a trade event where Crusaders cooked breakfast and talked with customers. We hope they also got some building tips to help with their many community activities!