IN THE WAKE of the AFLW SuperClash against North Melbourne in Round 2, Carlton head coach Mathew Buck reflected on the importance of staying connected to the Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) all year round.
After a visit to patients and families at the Royal Children’s Hospital last week, Mathew Buck opened up to Carlton Media about why it’s important to be close to the hospital, seeing as most have had experiences to the hospital one way or another.
Buck praises the efforts of Melbournians who dig deep during the Good Friday Appeal over the Easter weekend, acknowledging that the money raised is imperative to the hospital upgrading facilities and being able to maintain the reputation it has in the wider community and globally.
“The money that gets raised over the Easter weekend to keep it world-class like it is right now is incredible," Buck said.
"I think if we can raise awareness throughout the year that we need to continue to support the hospital and get behind the benefits they have.
“We know what great things it does for kids in our community and it's just so important as a society that we continue to support the hospital that looks after our most vulnerable people”.
Buck’s passion for the RCH goes a little deeper, with his wife Rachael being a patient at the hospital from birth to the age of 21.
His love and appreciation for the Royal Children’s Hospital shines through as the two return for regular visits and attend fundraising benefit events.
“My wife came and had heart surgery when she was 10 days old, she had transposition of the great vessels and then had come back every year until she was 21 to get that checked," he said.
“She has done some visits previously with children who have had the same surgery as well, so it's a special place to Rachael and our family."
Throughout the week, Buck highlighted the importance of the hospital to the playing group and is aware that there are things bigger than football.
Gratitude is a main value that Buck has driven into his players since taking the reins and being able to put life into perspective is something that he knows the Blues players are able to do, especially after the visit to the Royal Children’s Hospital.
Buck is always humbled after his experiences with patients and their families and knows that passing their stories onto families has been a driving force for his players to use their platform as AFLW players to provide information to their network and provide constant support to the Royal Children’s Hospital.
“We talk about gratitude all the time and being grateful to play our great game and to be a part of a great club like Carlton and being grateful for being healthy and living a great lifestyle certainly something that the Royal Children’s Hospital puts in perspective for you," he said.
“I’m definitely humbled by the experience and will certainly pass that onto the players, but its important to keep an eye on how lucky we are and to do what we do and use the platform we have to help support great places like the hospital”.
