Canberrans are a generous lot, but 85 per cent of our donated funds never reach locals, going instead to national and international charities. What if we started our giving at home first, asks Hands Across Canberra CEO GENEVIEVE JACOBS.

When Cal Bruton spins a basketball and shoots, it’s easy to narrow your eyes and travel back in time, to imagine him moving at lightning speed across the court.

The kid from the tough streets of Queens, New York, won a scholarship to Wichita State University and played four seasons of elite college basketball, missing NBA selection by a whisker.

Fate stepped in when David “Doc” Adkins recruited Bruton for the National Basketball League’s first season in 1979 with the Brisbane Bullets.

A point guard who brought drama and razzamatazz to the court, he won NBL championships as both a coach and player, eventually becoming a naturalised citizen, one of the first NBL Hall of Famers, and receiving an Order of Australia in 2021. 

But these days Cal’s focus is mostly on helping others grow, both on and off the court.

His own early years were tough: his dad was stabbed to death during an armed robbery when Cal was seven and his mother struggled alone, battling the demons of addiction.

Cal cared for his younger sisters, one of whom is intellectually handicapped, at a time when racial tensions in the US were often at boiling point.

He knew from his own experience that basketball could be a way out, and not just for high achievers. 

And so the Bruton Basketball Foundation was established, helping young people develop not just as basketballers but well-rounded human beings, too.

The Foundation’s Basketball Lessons 4Life program offers mentoring for disadvantaged high school students to build confidence and succeed in education and in the workplace.

Basketball provides the framework, enabling coaches to engage kids by using issues that arise to teach life skills like teamwork, positivity, respect, overcoming adversity, goal setting and hard work.

The program is structured across the high school years and by the end, kids know how to set, structure, and focus on achieving their goals and engage positively with the world around them.

The Bruton Basketball Foundation is one of more than 80 charities participating in this year’s Canberra Day Appeal, an event that spurs our community to give locally.

And the need is real. While many Canberrans have secure incomes and comfortable lives, it’s a long way to the bottom when someone falls off the “Canberra cliff”.

If you’re coping with family breakdown, disability, mental health issues or a host of other complicating factors, the struggle becomes very real.

Forty thousand Canberrans live in poverty and, sadly, 10,000 of them are children. Many people battling with high living costs are working several jobs to keep a roof over their kids’ heads.

The good news is that Canberrans are a generous lot. We’re among the highest donors per capita in Australia and we top volunteering rates by a clear margin.

But 85 per cent of those donated funds from Canberra never reach locals, going instead to national and international charities.

What if we started our giving at home first? What if we began with people you see down at the shops, or whose kids are at school with yours?

All the charities we partner with at Hands Across Canberra are local and all their projects support people here in our hometown.

Many are small organisations doing outstanding work on the frontlines of need, so participating in the Appeal significantly boosts their fundraising capacity and profile.

Donations through our portal to the cause of your choice will be matched up to $2500 per charity during the campaign period, doubling your dollar and creating a huge boost for small organisations. 

Whether the cause close to your heart is mental health, homelessness, family support, education or social inclusion, there’s a local charity doing important work here in Canberra.

And if you can’t decide, donate to Hands Across Canberra and we’ll share your donation equally to all participating charities through matched funding. 

The Appeal runs throughout February and March and includes the Canberra Day Fun Run on March 9, where all registration fees go to the Appeal.

The beauty of the Appeal is that you choose how to take part. You can donate, run or walk, support a friend, or simply pick a charity and give locally. 

When you do, you’re helping brilliant people like Cal Bruton and so many others build a better, fairer and more resilient Canberra for all of us.

More information or donate at canberraday.org.au

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