Rabbitohs five-eighth Cody Walker has received the South Cares Award for the most outstanding contributions to the community, deserved recognition for the work and effort he puts into the community away from the football field.
Walker, who was also the Club’s nominee for the Ken Stephen Medal in 2022, has a long and proud history of supporting the community through Souths Cares’ programs as well as his own community and charity work.
Cody is an active participant in Souths Cares’ Nanga Mai Marri Aboriginal Employment Program, the Deadly Youth Mentoring Program, the Rabbitohs Wellbeing Program and the Regional Health Tours. He has also supported NAIDOC week celebrations and industry visits to Crown Sydney at Barangaroo to promote NAIDOC’s ‘Get Up, Stand Up, Show Up’ theme in 2022.
He played an important leadership role in the Rabbitohs Indigenous Jersey Design and utilized Indigenous Round as an opportunity to bring awareness to inequalities experienced by Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander People, whilst also celebrating culture during NRL Indigenous Round.
He was one of the leading figures when the Rabbitohs squad visited the Yarrabah Aboriginal Community in far north Queensland in 2022, worked with Souths Cares and the Redfern Aboriginal Medical Service to promote COVID testing and Government Health advice during the height of the pandemic, and also worked closely with Souths Cares delivering mental health workshops to those who were struggling with lockdowns during the COVID pandemic.
He is one of the leaders of the eSafety workshops run by Souths Cares, and is regarded as one of the Indigenous leaders amongst his peers in the NRL.
Of his own volition, Cody also visits many rural communities throughout the year alongside team mate Latrell Mitchell and other NRL players such as Josh Addo-Carr and Jack Wighton.
He is also leading a project to promote mental health in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and fundraising for the Rising Warriors Program. Rabbitohs players who played in specially painted boots donated their boots which were auctioned off after the game to support Mudyala Aboriginal Corporation / Rising Warriors Program with over $12,000 in funds raised.
Cody’s efforts in his community work and championing social justice campaigns continue to create a substantial impact, both at a local level and throughout Australia.
Within the NRL, Cody is highly regarded as a leader amongst the Indigenous playing group. His courage to speak up against racism and inequalities experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people has paved a pathway for other players to follow.
Importantly, Cody’s community work has had an impact in regional communities which often lack resources/service providers and receive little public support. As a proud Bundjalung-Yuin man, Cody has strong connections with both the NSW North Coast and NSW South Coast and has led a range of initiatives to support these regions as well as the broader Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. Cody has been instrumental in gaining support and fundraising for the ‘Rising Warriors Program’ which operates within the Northern Rivers region of NSW.
This is the second consecutive year that Cody has won the Souths Cares Award, this year presented by General Manager of Souths Cares, Alisha Parker-Elrez, at the Red and Green Ball held tonight (Saturday).
Congratulations to Cody Walker on winning the Souths Cares Award for most outstanding contributions to the community.
Previous Winners
2021 Cody Walker
2011 Whole squad
2010 Whole squad
2009 Jamie Simpson
2008 Jamie Simpson
2007 Dean Widders
2006 Beau Champion
