Dear Members and Supporters,

I am writing to you to tell you about a devastating situation that my wife Lisa and I have recently encountered.

Before Round 13 against the Kangaroos you would have noticed that I was a late withdrawal for personal reasons. Lisa was 20 weeks pregnant with our first child. Unfortunately she lost fluid and a few days later went into spontaneous labor where she gave birth to our baby boy, Archie. Unfortunately due to the circumstances we lost Archie.

In what was one of the most testing periods of our lives we had support from an organisation called the Teddy Love Club.

The TLC program is an Australia-wide support program for bereaved parents who suffer the loss of their child through miscarriage, stillbirth and neonatal death. As one part of this, the TLC donates bears to bereaved parents in the hope that they can comfort and ease the pain while leaving the hospital with empty arms.

This amazing program helped us tremendously, we would like to try and give something back to this wonderful organisation.

Round 21 against Melbourne will be my 100th game, and in conjunction with the Port Adelaide Football Club we will be running a ‘Teddy Bear Drive’ in honor of our baby Archie.

Both Lisa and I are asking you for your support by making a donation on the day. It can either be a monetary donation or a Teddy Bear. These will be collected by the club at The Hanger after the match and at The Port Club for the next few weeks.

If donating a Teddy Bear please consider the following: - Traditional teddy bears only (no toy animals, dogs, rattles, bears with clothing) - Bears must be new - second hand bears are not able to be given to bereaved families - Small to medium size bears only (maximum 30cm in height) - Ensure your bear is cuddly - these bears fill the arms of many parents when leaving the hospital - Please be mindful of the colour of the bear e.g. bears that are brown, white, yellow, blue or pink are often what the parents chose.

For more information on the program, or if you wish to donate now, please visit the website.

Lisa and I thank you all for your support and hope to see you Round 21 on what will be a special day for Lisa and I, in celebrating a win, my 100th game and in honoring Archie Chaplin.

Regards
Troy Chaplin