FightMND

Since the inception of the Big Freeze round in 2015, the annual Kings Birthday match between Melbourne and Collingwood has quickly become a staple and highlight of the AFL calendar. The hotly contested game takes a backseat to the message behind it, as a capacity MCG and the wider community all come together to raise funds towards fighting Motor Neuron Disease (MND). The Zurich Walk to the ‘G, the infamous celebrity slide and the iconic blue beanies all play their part in creating an incredible atmosphere and excitement for the clash.

Big Freeze has quickly become one of the clubs marquee matches, driven by the enormous community support for the event which is largely attributed to ongoing efforts of former (1998-2007) Melbourne coach Neale Daniher who co-founded FightMND in 2014. Big Freeze 9 raised $15.8 million towards MND research in 2023.

The Reach Foundation

The club’s ties to the Reach Foundation goes all the way back to their inception in 1994, as it was co-founded by the late great Jim Stynes. His work in youth mental health and the philosophy of prior education over reactive intervention, is Reach at its core, and helps young people develop into their full potential.

Our annual Round for Reach shines on a spotlight on the wonderful work The Reach Foundation does in youth mental health and builds awareness and raises funds to enable facilitators to run these important youth programs.

Breast Cancer Network Australia

Melbourne has a proud history of supporting the Breast Cancer Network Australia, with the Pink Lady match becoming a fixture that we look forward to in the AFL calendar. Having started in 2005, the annual tradition of turning the G pink helps raise awareness for BCNA, and by purchasing a scarf, beanie, poncho or banner, we can all help raise funds. Our teams, both AFL and AFLW, also adorn pick socks for the games.

The highlight of this fixture has been the Field of Women, where we have up to 15,000 people standing together on the MCG to create the silhouette of the Pink Lady, in honour of those Australians that get diagnosed with Breast Cancer each year. The field of women occurs every five years, with the Pink Lady Match occurring in the years between.