There is nothing like the Christmas period to bring out random acts of kindness.
James and Melissa Oakley were on the receiving end of an incredibly generous gesture by a Bombers supporter on Friday at the True Value Solar Centre.
The couple, from Mornington in Victoria, are big Essendon supporters but reluctantly had to give up their membership recently due to financial and medical pressures on their young family.
Parents to Lachlan, Edward and newborn twins Matilda and Lillian, young Matilda was required to have open heart surgery only five weeks ago.
During this time, Essendon supporter Luke Smith wrote to the club wanting to donate a Flexi Family Membership ahead of Christmas to help a family that may be in need.
“At Christmas time, I thought that maybe someone wanted a membership and I thought I would chip in and try and assist a family that maybe needed some help,” Smith said.
“To me, this is a family club. We have Watson, Daniher, Fletcher and all those names at the club and the supporters are like a big family.
“Essendon is a fantastic club and place that brings people joy and I wanted to do just something ahead of Christmas that could help others.”
On behalf of Smith, the club got in touch with the Oakley family who were aware of their situation and wanted to share in the Christmas spirit.
“Basically, I got a call out of the blue from the club’s membership department last week and they were offering a family membership to us on behalf of the generous donation from a fellow Bomber supporter in Luke,” James Oakley said.
“It’s certainly helped make our Christmas period more enjoyable and we’re entirely grateful to Luke and the amazing Christmas kindness he has shown.
“It was a hard decision not to renew our membership for this year, but obviously our responsibilities needed to be directed at our kids both medically and financially. But the generosity of one stranger has turned that all around and we are extremely appreciative of this gesture.”
Brendon Goddard, Dyson Heppell and Paul Chapman were all on hand to present Essendon guernsey’s to both the Oakley family and Luke Smith with his son Ollie (aged 11) who all had the opportunity to tour the True Value Solar Centre and meet their football heroes.
To view the 2015 membership packages, click here.
Bring your family along to Essendon games next year. Don The Sash in 2015 and sign up as an Essendon member. Click here to view a membership package that suits you.
