Local football players were busy trudging up driveways and delivering phone books last weekend, as part of an initiative to give back to the community.
The Edward Milne community school football program returned for a fourth year to distribute the Sooke Lions Club phone books throughout the East Sooke and Sooke area.
According to Richard Whiteley, program head coach, the young players were scheduled to deliver about 5,000 phone books along 11 different routes.
The phone books were bagged, and delivered straight to door steps.
“Unless there’s a gate or a beware of dog sign, we try to get it to the door,” Whiteley said.
At the year-end awards banquet on Dec. 8, Whiteley announced one of the priorities for 2013 is to increase community involvement.
“One of our main key goals is to give back to the community, and this is one of the ways,” he said.
“It benefits both of us. They’re paying us to do this, but at the same time, it gets their phone directories, which is a big fundraiser for them every year, out into the community.”
Whiteley stressed the importance of community involvement is to build bridges between the football program and community.
“You give into the community, the community gives back. Not just in money, but with their time, and football is a time hungry sport, on the field or off the field.”
The Lions Club awarded the program $2,500 for the deliveries.