On a mission to raise funds for Capital Region Muscular Dystrophy (from left) Chad Griffin, Rob Oakley, Scott Masters, Sean Kelly and Corey Loveridge with a football powerchair. Photo: Tenele Conway.
Former Canberra radio personality turned low and slow BBQ chef Scott Masters is turning your rubbish into funds to help support Capital Region Muscular Dystrophy.
And he’s encouraging other businesses to get on board. For each bottle or can left behind at Fyshwick’s popular BBQ restaurant, Smoke Masters, Scott converts them into cash using the ACT Container Deposit Scheme.
So far they’ve raised thousands of dollars to support a cause close to Scott’s heart after his father was diagnosed with Muscular Dystrophy (MD) when he was 44.
“My old man was diagnosed in 1989; we were in Newcastle, and there was no support available to him,” shares Scott.
It’s a sentiment backed by Rob Oakley, the co-founder of Capital Region Muscular Dystrophy (CRMD), a foundation set up to offer programs and services to those living with MD.
“I teamed up with a friend, Nigel Jeffreys and his son Chris, who at 10 years old came home from school saying that he wanted to help,” Rob said.
“We sat down together and we said the lack of information and support is just not good enough; someone has to do something. And here we are.”
According to CRMD, neuromuscular disorders affect more than 20,000 Australians and in Scott’s experience, the lack of awareness has affected funding for MD.
Scott is now working with Rob to change that through their annual fundraiser, the Muscle Up Charity Fight Night, on Saturday 23 August at the Hellenic Club.
Capital Region Muscular Dystrophy funds the purchase of powerchair for kids’ football through fundraisers like the Muscle Up Fight Night. Photo: Supplied.
The annual fight night, which has been running for more than a decade, sees amateur boxers go head to head in a night of fighting with all proceeds going to support the programs offered by CRMD.
The evening will further CRMD’s fundraising efforts with a raffle and an auction of sporting memorabilia and for those looking for more variety, the crowd will be entertained by what Rob describes as their infamous samurai sword show.
“We have a good reputation in the boxing community,” Rob said.
“We have a good card forming for this year, we have some guys coming from Sydney and Queensland and we have our local amateur boxers. People want to fight on our card now.
“We put on a good show, it’s all lights and sound. You turn on the TV and you see some of the big shows, that’s what we’re trying to do.”
A key program the fundraiser supports is kids’ powerchair football (soccer). Rob is well under way in building a four-team Canberra league.
“We’re working with Capital Football and we have a regular program on Saturday mornings. We have maybe a dozen kids at the moment, and we’re always looking for more,” Rob said.
“The most difficult thing is getting them through the door; once they try it, they love it. We’ve taken a team to the Australian Club Championships a few times and we are building momentum.”
The league originally got off the ground through a generous donation from Gungahlin Rotary, which donated enough to cover nine powerchairs, no small feat given that the chairs come from the US at a cost of $15,000 per chair.
Rob aims for an entertaining night of fighting. Photo: Supplied.
CRMD has since been able to invest in six more chairs, enough for the intended league.
Rob said the league was not limited to kids with muscular dystrophy.
“Whatever your situation, we want kids to come and have a go,” he said.
“Watching all these kids come together and learn how to play together as a team has been incredible. Now they are just a team of brats, just like every other under-15s footy team on the weekend.”
The league provides a much-needed social outlet for the kids and the parents, and Rob said that exposing the kids to wheelchair and power chair sports had an aspirational component that could be a new experience for many of them.
“It’s one of those things that if you can’t see it, you can’t do it. All of a sudden the kids can go, hey there’s someone who plays for Australia, I can do that.”
Tables and corporate packages for the Muscle Up Charity Fight Night are on sale now – for details contact Rob Oakley on 0429 382 502. General admission tickets will go on sale in early August and will be available via Sticky Tickets. For more information or to donate to Capital Region Muscular Dystrophy head to its website.
