Carlton and NAB have joined with the AFL to provide a day at the football for 450 primary school children at this Sunday’s Carlton home game against the Sydney Swans at The Dome

NAB, the match day sponsor for Sunday’s game, will host the 450 primary school ‘buddies’ as part of their ongoing support of the Better Buddies Framework, an initiative of the Alannah and Madeline Foundation.

The Better Buddies Framework has been implemented into 150 schools across Australia in 2008 thanks to the support of NAB.  The framework buddies up older primary school children with younger children to create friendly and caring primary school communities where bullying is reduced. Students are able to form unique relationships which allow younger students to feel safe and cared for and older students to feel valued and respected. 

The ‘buddies’, from sixteen participating schools, will be accompanied in the stands by members of their local NAB branch who have volunteered their time to the Better Buddies Framework throughout the year.  Activities the NAB ‘buddies’ have been involved with this year include weekly reading programs to presenting ‘Buddy Bears’ to the school.

Buddy Bear is the mascot of Better Buddies who embodies the values, and promotes a feeling, of care, safety, warmth and comfort.  Buddy Bear will also be seen at the game on Sunday.

Supporters will not miss the ‘buddies’ at Sunday’s game. They will be dressed in purple and will form a mass of purple on level three at the Lockett end of the ground.

The Alannah and Madeline Foundation is a national children's charity keeping children safe from violence by providing care, prevention programs and advocacy. The Foundation was set up in memory of two children, Alannah and Madeline Mikac aged 6 and 3, who along with their mother and 32 other people, were tragically killed at Port Arthur, Tasmania.

For more information on the Alannah and Madeline Foundation visit – www.amf.org.au