THE OFFICIAL SITE OF THE CANTERBURY RAMS
CANTERBURY RAMPAGES 2002

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INTRODUCTION

The Directors of the Canterbury Rams basketball team, Dr John Watson and Mr Tim Thodey, believe that the Rams organisation has an important role to play in community and individual development and education. As a result, The Rambo Charitable Trust was formed. The Trust is named after the Canterbury Rams’ easily recognised mascot, Rambo the Ram.

The Rambo Charitable Trust has a focus on youth and families but is involved with people of all age groups throughout Canterbury. The Trust uses the public profile of Canterbury Rams players for social benefit, presenting them as positive role models and contemporary messengers to youth and families.

The following provides a brief summary of the programmes that are currently run by the Rambo Charitable Trust . . .

Community Outreach Visits

This year the Canterbury Rams have been out in the community visiting schools, hospitals, and virtually any organisation that contacts us requesting a player visit. During community outreach visits players typically give talks about goal-setting and motivation and run basketball skill development sessions where possible.

During a standard week Canterbury Rams players are committed to visiting 4 or 5 different organisations. From April to July 2001 alone an estimated 25,000 people were touched by a visit from Canterbury Rams players.

For 2002 we are planning to develop a curriculum-driven approach to our outreach visits, where players’ work is driven by specific learning objectives tailored to the audiences being visited.

School and Community Fundraising Programme

The Rambo Charitable Trust School and Community Fundraising Programme aims to give groups a unique opportunity to raise funds while providing an opportunity for developing a sense of community among students, staff, families, or members.

The Trust provides schools and community organisations with tickets for Canterbury Rams home games, and donates half the value of sold tickets back to the participating organisation. In 2001, the inaugural year of the programme, we helped 37 Canterbury schools and community groups raise over $10,000 for various projects ranging from upgrading library resources to educational trips. We anticipate that this programme will grow further in coming years, as word spreads about the opportunities for fundraising offered by The Rambo Charitable Trust.

Rams Night Out

The Rams Night Out programme assists organisations throughout Canterbury who work with children, youth, and families.

The Rams Night Out programme offers a two-part experience. First, a fun night of basketball instruction from a Rams player is provided at no cost to organisations. The experience will incorporate the ideas of goal setting and other life skills in addition to basic basketball instruction.

Second, the Rams Night Out programme provides an outing to a Canterbury Rams game. This part of the programme gives participants an opportunity to experience a live Canterbury Rams game in the world class WestpacTrust Centre.

Basketball Camps

The Rambo Charitable Trust runs three-day basketball day camps for children aged 10 – 16 years during the September, June and January school holidays. The Camps offer a unique opportunity for youth to receive instruction from the best basketball minds in New Zealand: Canterbury Rams players and coaches, as well as celebrated coaches from the wider Canterbury community. In addition, teenagers 17 – 18 years who have an interest in coaching are invited to apply for a limited number of assistant coaching positions for each camp. Approximately 60 children and 7 assistant coaches participate in each of the camps

While the Trust charges a fee for participation in the Camps, we also sponsor a number of children whose families cannot afford to send them to Camps. These participants are recommended to us from coaches schools throughout Canterbury.

Jr Rams Programme

The Jr Rams Programme involves children aged 5 – 16 years who are interested in basketball, regardless of their skill level. The goals of the Programme are to teach children fundamental basketball skills in order to encourage physical activity and participation, and to help develop a sense of community with Rams players. Children who join the programme receive four newsletters per year and can attend three clinics run by Canterbury Rams players and coaches during the basketball season.

There are currently 60 Jr Rams members, but we anticipate that this number will grow as more children in Christchurch become connected with basketball, the programmes of the Rambo Charitable Trust, and the Canterbury Rams.

Coaches Association

The aim of the Coaches association is to provide a knowledge network for basketball coaches throughout Canterbury and to develop a sense of community among basketball coaches. Our Coaches Association uses Canterbury Rams games as the basis for coaching education and discussion. Participants sit in the “Coaches Corner” during games and then meet to discuss the coaching strategies used in the game during the week that follows.

Business and Sport Marketing Society (BSMS)

The aim of the BSMS is to provide future business leaders with practical business experience. Students receive training in sponsorship, direct marketing, event management, public relations, web design, advertising, accounting, and journalism.

A long term goal of the Trust is to provide university scholarships to students interested in studying any of these aspects of modern day business management.

Summer Rampage Programme

The Summer Rampage Programme is currently in the proposal stage and is envisioned to be operated in conjunction with the Christchurch City Council. This programme will be aimed at local communities throughout Christchurch, and will involve one-off special events at local parks and recreation centers during holidays. The Summer Rampage programme will see Canterbury Rams players running free afternoon basketball clinics for local children and teenagers , accompanied by local bands and other entertainers relevant to the targeted age groups. The programme will focus on communities in need.

MORE INFORMATION

For more information about the Rambo Charitable Trust and for organisations keen to become involved please contact the John Watson on 358-DUNK or [email protected]

THE RAMBO CHARITABLE TRUST IS THANKFUL FOR THE SUPPORT OF: