Hawks Helps
Hawks Helps was established in 2024, as the Illawarra Hawks’ new signature community program.
It is the Club’s “signature” program because it represents the central foundation of the Hawks’ renewed long term strategy, which prioritises the contribution that the Club makes to the Illawarra community. The Hawks aim to be a club that truly matters to all the people of the Illawarra, and to make the Illawarra a better place through basketball. Hawks Helps will be the engine room for this vision.
Hawks Helps is being built around three pillars: First Nations, “Mental Fitness” in schools, and inclusivity, particularly the empowerment of women and girls. These themes are aligned with and complement the Hawks’ community basketball activities, in partnership with Illawarra Basketball Association and other basketball community partners.
In its establishment phase, Hawks Helps is being developed within the Community division of the Illawarra Hawks organisation, under the direction of the Club’s first ever dedicated General Manager, Community, former Hawks skipper Kevin White. Options for the program’s future governance will be considered as the program develops in the coming months.
Hawks Helps – Mental Fitness
Building from the Hawks’ longstanding Healthy Habits schools’ program, Hawks Helps will take a new “We Rise Together”-themed program into primary and early secondary schools across the Illawarra starting in 2024.
The custom-designed program leverages the renowned character of the Illawarra Hawks, to teach Year 5 – 8 Illawarra school students “Mental Fitness” – resilience and techniques to face and overcome challenges in their lives.
Lesson plans, supported by Hawks’ players and new specialised teaching resources, tackle subjects ranging from learnings from players’ resilience journeys, to identifying personal strengths, and teamwork and communication, trust, respect and conflict resolution as ways to manage life changes and transitions.
The Hawks Helps Mental Fitness programs aim to reach 15 classrooms across 6 local schools, piloting both the Primary and Secondary programs to 500 students in Term 4 2024. The phase 2 approach to the Mental Fitness Pillar aims for digital presentation with this focus being online delivery to broaden the scope and reach of the Illawarra Hawks.
Register here for the Hawks to attend your community to host a mental fitness program.
Hawks Helps – First Nations
Hawks Helps First Nations pillar is being developed with the guidance of the Club’s Aboriginal Advisory Committee, and in consultation with Hawks’ current and former First Nations players.
Subject to this guidance, and in collaboration with the local community, Hawks intends to explore:
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partnerships with local indigenous community organisations delivering health and wellbeing, and creating and promoting indigenous role models to young indigenous people across Dharawal country
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extending the Club’s Indigenous Round activity, and First Nations elements in the Hawks’ regular game day experience
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development of a first ever Reconciliation Action Plan for the Club,
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opportunities to support the needs of the local Indigenous community within the Hawks’ emerging facilities strategy, and
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actively incorporating a local First Nations focus into basketball development activities in partnership with the Illawarra Basketball Association.
Hawks Helps – Empowerment of Women and Girls
The Hawks are committed to building a club that matters to all the people of the Illawarra. Hawks Helps Female Empowerment programs will build on the Club’s highly-successful girls-only camps, delivered this year in partnership with Illawarra Basketball Association and Lauren Jackson’s SheHoops program.
The Hawks Helps program will also explore opportunities to support the Hawks WNBL1 team in partnership with the IBA, and internships and other professional development opportunities for women through the Club.
The Hawks activities for women and girls will support, and be framed by a major strategic ambition for the Hawks to have a team in the WNBL. This aspiration will be supported by the Hawks’ facilities strategy, which provides for a boutique arena within a new Beaton Park “Home of Basketball” for WNBL home Games.
