Hawks' corporate partner spotlight: i98FM Illawarra Convoy

The Hawks would like to highlight the exceptional community work of our corporate partners i98FM, who recently raised $3,047,473 through their annual Illawarra Convoy.

Running since 2005, the Illawarra Convoy is one day where the community rallies together for a common goal, to support those families in the area doing it tough due to a potentially life-threatening medical condition.

I98FM Illawarra Convoy and Illawarra community foundation manager Mark Rigby was proud of the way the region once again rose to the occasion and supported the initiative despite COVID-19 restrictions.

"We were days away from an official cancellation this year before restrictions were eased allowing us to proceed with the event," Rigby said.

"We were unable to run our free family fun day at Shellharbour Airport due to the complexities of COVID-19 restrictions and large crowds but that didn’t dampen the community support.

"Every year our fundraisers surprise us with new ways to raise money for Convoy. 

"Considering a majority of our third-party fundraisers were cancelled due to COVID, to raise more than three million dollars is an outstanding effort. 

"This was also supported by The House that Convoy Built, a project that was undertaken by a local tradesman to build a house at no charge to the Illawarra Community Foundation and auctioned off the day before Convoy for an amazing $1,315,000."

Rigby also drew comparisons between the Convoy and the foundation NBL club.

"Community engagement drives Convoy and is the reason for the amazing fundraising results year on year," said Rigby, who thanked all the generous people to that contributed to this year's event - which they're aiming to build on in 2022.

"The Hawks also bring the local community together to rally behind them, as they take on the rest of the country’s best.

"Both Convoy and The Hawks help put the Illawarra on the map, especially over the 18 months with the work the team has been doing both on and off the court."

Hawks co-owner and president Dorry Kordahi was excited to see the Convoy be a success again in 2021 and raise more than $3,000,000 for Illawarra families doing it tough.

"We're proud of the fantastic work in the Illawarra community by our corporate partners i98FM," said Kordahi, whose club will host an i98FM fundraising day during one of their March home fixtures.

"Both i98FM and the Hawks are big on giving back to the Illawarra community, through a variety of engaging channels.

"To see them raise more than $3,000,000 for families of the Illawarra community, just before Christmas, is incredible and we look forward to reaching new heights in the future along i98FM."

To find out more about how you can join our corporate partnership family, email partnerships@hawks.com.au.

Alternatively, you can call us on 1300 1 HAWKS.

Tickets for the Hawks' second home game against the South East Melbourne Phoenix on Thursday, December 23 at the WIN Entertainment Centre are available via Ticketmaster.