Essendon's Adam Ramanauskas and Andrew Welsh joined club Managing Director and CEO, Peter Jackson today, to launch a community gym at the North Melbourne Community Centre.
 
Essendon joined forces with Moonee Valley City Council, Victoria Police, and the YMCA to help create the new training facility to support disadvantaged youth in the Flemington and North Melbourne area.

The gym, which is due to open at the end of November, will be jointly staffed by a YMCA fitness instructor and officers from Victoria Police who will have a minimum qualification of certificate IV in fitness. Essendon footballers will also be involved.

Essendon Football Club is enthusiastic about its involvement in this project and being able to assist with the provision of gym equipment for this important facility.

""Essendon is passionate about playing an integral role in the community and our underlying philosophy is to strengthen communities through sport,"" Essendon Chief Executive, Peter Jackson said.

""The launch of the gym is a prime example of how the club is working to make a genuine and lasting difference to the lives we touch.

""It’s not simply a case of donating equipment - we want to play a part in changing lives and we look forward to seeing the community benefit from today's launch.""

Young people will be able to use the gym at no cost. Programs and fitness assessments will be provided for all those attending and women-only sessions will also be programmed.

Mayor, Cr Ben Opie, said the aim of the project was to provide an accessible gym to young people living in Flemington and North Melbourne public housing estates to promote a healthy lifestyle and build self esteem.

""This is one of a range of partnership programs facilitated by Council designed to enhance the sense of community felt by residents living in the public housing estates in the southern end of our city,"" Cr Opie said.

""Moonee Valley is home to nearly 1400 newly arrived Australians from Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Sudan. Housed in public housing buildings in Flemington, Ascot Vale and North Melbourne, our Horn of Africa residents build new lives away from their war-torn homelands.

""Programs such as the North Melbourne Gym and the Flemington Community Capacity Building Project promote a real sense of belonging and empower our new arrivals to engage in their new community.

""This project is an example of true partnership between key government agencies and the private sector. It demonstrates the importance we, as community leaders, place on community building and encouraging better outcomes for our young people.""

Moonee Valley District Inspector Nigel Howard said the project would allow police to interact with local youth in an informal way and help strengthen community partnerships.

""Local police have worked extremely hard over the past 18 months to develop strong relationships with young people from a range of backgrounds and proactively assist with providing opportunities for them in a wide range of areas,"" he said.

""This gym is another way for police to show their support and we’re both pleased and proud to have joined with the Essendon Football Club, Moonee Valley Council and YMCA to make this happen.""

Debney Ward Cr Rose Iser said she was extremely proud and humbled by the achievements of residents who had left untold tragedies behind in their homeland to start a new life in Australia.

""The projects facilitated by Moonee Valley Council and our partners demonstrate the community’s commitment to multiculturalism. It also clearly demonstrates that some recent media comments are both unfounded and unwelcome. These projects are about creating inclusiveness, not division,"" Cr Iser said.