Sometimes in life it pays to be a bit cheeky.
The Barrett brothers have donated a historic All Blacks jersey for a charity auction this weekend, after a light-hearted but heartfelt video message from a young Auckland boy caught their attention.
Eleven-year-old Joshua Venables sent the message to Beauden, Jordie and Scott earlier this year, during the series with France. Joshua was born with Down syndrome, a genetic condition that affects approximately one in 800 babies born in New Zealand (around one a week). He has been receiving speech and language therapy to develop his communication abilities since he was 1 year old.
However, such therapy is not provided by the government, meaning families need to employ private SLT practitioners. Joshua – and hundreds of others – have been supported greatly by the UpsideDowns Education trust, which helps to fund the therapy.
Joshua was determined to help with the fundraising this year and recorded his own message for the All Blacks trio. He did it while wearing his father’s New Plymouth Boys High school 1st XV jersey, the arch rivals of Francis Douglas Memorial College, the alma mater of the Barrett family.
“Hi Scottie, Jordie and Beaudie,” he said in the message. “I’m Joshua, we have met before. Well done with the win last night. I loved the passing and kicking. Thank you for helping the UpsideDowns trust and helping me speak. I’m really good at speaking now.
“Can you help me a little more? We have a gala dinner in September at Eden Park. Could we get a signed All Blacks jersey for our auction? We will get lots of money for it – because everyone loves you.”
The message touched a chord and the trio – who will bring up a combined 300 tests between them in Saturday’s match against South Africa – donated a signed jersey from the victory over France in Dunedin in early July, where the All Blacks became the first team in rugby history to reach 500 test wins.
“Joshua loves rugby and wanted to do something different and cheeky,” his father Phil Venables said. “He has met the Barretts before at a captain’s run and idolises them.”
Venables explained that speech-language therapy has been life-changing for Joshua and the family.
“The key benefit is that he can interact and be part of our community – and not feel left out,” Venables said. “He is mainstream at school, he is active in sports (judo, swimming and football) and he is able get on really well with all his cousins.”
The Barrett brothers are patrons of UpsideDowns and it is a cause that is close to their heart, as one of their sisters, Zara, was born with Trisomy-21. Their mother Robyn told the Herald that the family are “passionate supporters” of the UpsideDowns Education Trust.
“Back in the day, most schools had a speech language therapist based full-time at school,” she said. “That is not the case anymore so sadly many children, not just children with Down syndrome, miss out on the support they need to have a confident voice to enable them to shine and reach their potential. The early intervention of speech therapy will set a child up for life. The magnificent work of the UpsideDowns Education Trust removes barriers for so many families who may not otherwise be able to afford or access specialist support.”
The signed jersey is one of many special auction items available at the annual Share the Dream gala dinner, held at Eden Park from 6.30pm this Saturday.
These include Ed Sheeran concert tickets, an action-packed Queenstown holiday and a five-night stay in Rarotonga. There’s also plenty for sports fans, from a signed Gael Monfils shirt from the recent US Open (donated by ASB Classic organisers), autographed Warriors and Black Ferns kit, a VIP experience at a Qatar Airways box for the upcoming Bledisloe Cup test at Eden Park and a priceless opportunity to attend an Auckland FC training and meet the players and coaches.
“UpsideDowns Education Trust is a cause we’re proud to support at Auckland FC,” said chief executive Nick Becker. “We hope everybody has a wonderful evening.”
Tickets and more information about the gala dinner, whose principal sponsors are Ray White and Eden park, can be found here.
Michael Burgess has been a Sports Journalist for the New Zealand Herald since 2005, covering the Olympics, Fifa World Cups, and America’s Cup campaigns. He is a co-host of the Big League podcast.