By Lachlan Mitchell
The Dandenong Football Club is more than just a bunch of players that run around on a Saturday in the Redlegs’ colours and kick the footy around.
According to this week’s Volunteer of the Week Jessica McCabe…it’s also a family!
Jessica is a jack of all trades around the Dandenong inner sanctum.
You can often find Jessica behind the canteen cheering on her son Christian Iacono who is a regular feature of the Redlegs’ outfit.
Jessica’s husband Matthew, or ‘Macca’, has been a regular at Greaves Reserve since 2010 and currently holds the position of Vice President at the club.
Jessica has always been a part of the committee but decided to jump into the role of secretary this year.
“My husband has been part of the Dandenong Football Club since 2010…I had previously been a general committee member back in the day and this year I stepped up as secretary,” she said.
“I love supporting the local community and being a regular feature of the club.”
The football club continues to play a pivotal part in the community and getting the kids active in the area is a key focus this year.
“We have started an Auskick at our club this year, which has been a huge undertaking,” McCabe said.
“We are trying to target kids in the community who wouldn’t get the chance to play football, as well as running a modified clinic which I help run.
“I love getting locals involved in the club, which I run cause it’s such a great club.
“We have got a lot of people who come back year in year out, now we have got a lot of the children of past-players coming through Auskick as well.
The club has tried to help the local community as much as they can in creating a place which is safe and fun to be involved in.
“Everyone needs a place where they can feel safe and this is that place,” McCabe said.
“We have seen a lot of people come through and that’s why we keep such a strong culture at the club.
“It’s a place where they can chill out and it’s a place where they can be with their mates.
“It’s also a place where they can enjoy footy at a basic level, it just brings people here.
“It’s the atmosphere that brings the people here and we are in a really good location and we tend not to disturb local residence.
“We support a lot of the local businesses as well, and they support us in turn.
“So we are very community orientated in that regard.
“It’s the family vibe that everyone loves coming down for.”
